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Valles Caldera Looks To Future As National Park

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The management experiment at Valles Caldera National Preserve is coming to an end as the National Park Service prepares to take over the 140-square-mile property in northern New Mexico.

The transition is among dozens of public lands measures squeezed into the half-trillion-dollar defense bill approved by Congress and signed by the president last week.

The Park Service is taking on Valles Caldera and numerous other properties at a time when the agency is struggling with more than $11 billion in deferred maintenance at existing parks and monuments.

The defense bill did not include any funding for the new parks, leaving the Park Service to find money within its existing budget.

At Valles Caldera, there will be a six-month transition period. Officials expect the transition to lead to more public access.