2022 Annual Report: Moving Forward Together

Frosty ponderosa pine trees at History Grove.

NPS/L. Ray

The world is changing, and—having a relatively unique mission to protect, preserve, and restore—Valles Caldera National Preserve is in the perfect place to showcase the sustainable park of the future. At the same time, Valles Caldera is still a relatively new unit of the National Park System, so there are a lot of competing priorities. Here are some priorities that, as a new park, Valles Caldera is tasked to work on:

• Formation of a new and inspiring work culture.
• Development of universally accessible visitor services and infrastructure.
• Completion of a wide variety of planning documents, such as Cultural Landscape Inventory, Historic Resources Study, Historic Structures Report, Wildlife Management Framework, Park Condition Assessment, Zoning, Wilderness, Wild and Scenic River Assessment, Valle Grande District Development Concept Plan, and the General Management Plan, which incorporates many of the previous efforts.
• Providing quality visitor experiences with limited infrastructure.
• Reintroduce the park—how it is managed and how it is experienced—now that it is a national park unit.
• Further strengthen partnerships with regional tribes.

These factors provide a moment in time for us to chart a future for the park that is sustainable, resilient, and welcoming to all. Let us move forward together and make 2023 another tremendous year at Valles Caldera.