Black bear wanders through the cabin district at Valles Caldera National Preserve. Courtesy/C. Lycopolus NPS

VCNP News:

Jemez Springs — The National Park Service has shared the 2023 annual report of Valles Caldera National Preserve.

2023 was a year of achievement as the park’s dedicated team worked toward making Valles Caldera the premier national park unit within New Mexico.

Highlights of the year include holding public comment meetings on the long-range plan of the park, removing non-historic debris from the Sulphur Springs thermal basin, having one of our amazing volunteers receive the national award for adult volunteering, offering backcountry vehicle route passes on Recreation.gov, welcoming more than 76,000 visitors to the park, and participating in 9 events in our neighboring communities.

“I am proud of the work the entire team did this year.” Superintendent Jorge Silva-Bañuelos said. “There is a tremendous amount of work involved to stand up a unit of the National Park Service, and this team worked tirelessly to improve the experience for each and every visitor, improve the ecological health of the park, and reach out to our neighbors. We look forward to building upon these successes in 2024.”

Read the report summary and download a digital copy of the full report here.