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Alexander N. Gertsen 07/25/2000 05:28:18 Record Type: Record To: CC: Subject: STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT: Baca Ranch Signing THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary (Fayetteville, Arkansas) For Immediate Release July 25, 2000 STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT I am very pleased to sign into law S. 1892, the "Valles Caldera Preservation Act. " This legislation is the culmination of a gratifying cooperative effort with the Congress, led by Senator Bingaman, Senator Dominici, Representative Udall, and Representative Heather Wilson of New Mexico. Its enactment will permit us to protect over 95,000 acres of unique, irreplaceable land in northern New Mexico -- one of my top conservation priorities - - for future generations to enjoy. Specifically, this Act authorizes the acquisition and preservation of nearly 95,000 acres in the Valles Caldera, New Mexico. It also permits the sale of about 5,000 acres, containing the headwaters of the Santa Clara Creek, to the Santa Clara Pueblo, to allow the Pueblo to protect its water quality and resource values. A separate title of the bill authorizes the proceeds from the sale or exchange of certain Federal lands identified by the Bureau of Land Management as surplus to be used to purchase and protect other lands with exceptional natural resource values. The Valles Caldera is at the heart of the Jemez Mountains and is the site of perhaps the greatest of New Mexico's volcanic features. It also is home to a wide range of scenic, wildlife, cultural, and ecological resources, and provides incomparable scenic beauty and recreational potential. The importance of the preservation of the Valles Caldera lies in the unique combination of all of these features in a relatively pristine setting that is nevertheless close by, and accessible to, the people of New