Summer in the Valles Caldera opens wonderful beauty for everyone to experience. The Caldera is one of the only places in the southern Rockies where the public can experience a high mountain environment free of recent damage from livestock grazing. At the Caldera, thanks to the work of volunteers and National Park Service staff, wildlife habitat and watershed features are being restored after decades of overgrazing and catastrophic sheep impacts a century ago.
It is difficult to overstate how important a cattle-free Valles Caldera is for wildlife, endangered species, and water quality of the Jemez River. Most watersheds on US Forest Service land in New Mexico are overgrazed or nearly overgrazed with major impacts on a wide range of wildlife that depend on a diversity of plants to survive. If those plants are mowed down by cattle, it has big ripple effects through the whole ecosystem.
The mission of the National Park Service is to preserve the lands under their management. The NPS staff at the Caldera is dedicated to restoring wildlife habitat at the Caldera. However, cattle trespass threatens habitat and watershed restoration efforts, and it impacts the experience of people visiting the Caldera, especially people fishing and others visiting the streams.
Caldera Action is doubling down on our efforts to protect the Caldera from cattle grazing by highlighting the value of this high-altitude refuge. We are setting up a new meeting with the US Forest Service and the National Park Service regarding our ongoing legal action to prevent further cattle trespass into the Preserve. We are aware that pressure on the Trump administration for easier access to the Preserve by ranchers may be happening and we will continue our effort to protect the Preserve.
Cattle were “turned out” on US Forest Service lands on May 1, before most plants had a chance to start growing. In a severe drought year such as this one, should cattle be on our public lands at all?
Please continue to report any cattle you see in the Caldera this summer. You can report the trespass cattle the law enforcement rangers at the Caldera at 505 670 1612 or you can email Caldera Action at calderaaction@gmail.com. The Park Service will have a range rider rounding up feral cattle again this summer.
Volunteer Outdoors, Give Back
Both Bandelier National Monument and the Valles Caldera have opportunities for volunteers. If you want to help with the visitor centers at either park, you can sign up by clicking here for the Caldera and here for Bandelier. If you want to work with natural resource staff at Bandelier, please contact Caldera Action and we will get you in touch with the staff.
The friends group at the Valles Caldera (Los Amigos de Valles Caldera) is seeking new members for its board of directors. If you are interested write to losamigos@losamigosdevallescaldera.org.
We keep our eyes out for good volunteer opportunities for you.
