Valles Caldera Trust Gives Contract for Livestock Grazing Program
Associated Press
JEMEZ SPRINGS A Las Vegas man has been chosen to manage the livestock program at the Valles Caldera National Preserve this year.
Gary Morton's proposal was chosen from six submitted to the Valles Caldera board for review. Morton will bring in 2,000 yearlings into the preserve in early June, and they will be rotated through the preserve's grasslands through Sept. 30.
Dennis Trujillo, preserve manager, said Morton's ranching experience, well-designed management plan and his offer of $28 per head in grazing fees helped the lifelong cowboy earn the contract.
A Dexter couple managed the livestock program last year. The board said that program was ecologically successful, broke even financially but did not benefit any local producers.
Previous programs were ecologically successful and benefited local communities, but were not financially successful, the board has said.