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Opinion editorials Handling of Pit Appeal Calls for a Time-Out |
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opinion editorialsThis editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by editorial page staff and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers
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Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Valles Caldera Good Fit for Park Service
Stunning.
That's the word U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman used to describe the Valles Caldera when he and Sen. Tom Udall introduced a measure to put the 89,000-acre nature preserve under National Park Service management.
It's not an overstatement. The preserve is one of the largest volcanic calderas in the world, Udall said, and its "vast grass-filled valleys, forested hillsides and numerous volcanic peaks make the Valles Caldera a treasure to New Mexico, and a landscape of national significance millions of years in the making."
Since its purchase in 2000 for $100 million under the Clinton administration, it has been administered by a trust as a working ranch and public access has been limited. A National Park Service study determined it meets the criteria for inclusion in the National Park system as a national preserve.
Bingaman noted that while the trust has done its best to fulfill legislative directives, the current framework isn't best suited for management.
The Park Service is the right agency to manage keen public interest in the area and the need to protect its unique cultural and geologic resources.
The first call to bring the Valles Caldera into the National Park Service came in 1899, so it's more than past due.
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