Valles Caldera director's task to make preserve self-sufficient

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Artesia native Gary D. Bratcher, an agribusinessman and former state economic development secretary, was named Tuesday as executive director of the Valles Caldera Trust. He takes over at a critical juncture in management of the 89,000-acre Valles Caldera National Preserve in the Jemez Mountains. Congress approved money to buy the preserve in 2000, with the caveat it try to pay its own operating costs by 2015, something no other public land agency is expected to do. The preserve, which includes scenic valleys left by an ancient volcanic eruption, is managed by the Valles Caldera Trust, whose board members are appointed by the U.S. president. The Valles Caldera is an experiment in public land management. Congress mandated the protection of natural resources at the Valles Caldera and increased public access while continuing its operations as a working ranch — three goals often seen in conflict with each other....