House Passes Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Act

On October 25, 2000, the U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to pass the "Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Act of 2000." The Senate unanimously passed the bill on October 5, 2000. President Clinton is expected to sign the legislation by mid-November. A dedication ceremony will take place at Great Sand Dunes in December; the date will be announced at a later time.

The legislation was sponsored by Senator Wayne Allard and by Rep. Scott McGinnis, and supported by a wide bipartisan coalition including Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar, and Colorado Governor Bill Owens.

The name of the area will initially be changed to "Great Sand Dunes National Monument and Preserve." The title "National Park" will not be bestowed upon the area, but will occur when "sufficient land having a sufficient diversity of resources has been acquired." "Sufficient land" is generally regarded to mean the neighboring 98,000 acre Baca Ranch, which contains sand deposits and overlies ground water resources--both of which are critical elements for maintaining natural systems within the larger Great Sand Dunes ecosystem. The bill authorizes the purchase of this ranch and other critical portions the Great Sand Dunes ecosystem from willing sellers. Once acquired, about 31,000 acres of the Baca Ranch would become part of the new national park. About 54,000 acres would become part of the new "Baca National Wildlife Refuge," to be managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. About 13,000 acres, including the 14,165 foot Kit Carson Peak, would become part of the Rio Grand National Forest.

The bill immediately designates approximately 40,000 acres of land currently managed by the U.S. Forest Service as a "preserve" to be managed by the National Park Service. Hunting will continue to be allowed on the preserve as it is currently within the National Forest. This preserve, along with the area to be designated as a park, encompasses most of the natural features and systems on which the Great Sand Dunes depend for their continued survival.

"This creates a rare and remarkable situation where the primary portions of an entire national park's ecosystem are contained within NPS boundaries," said Monument Superintendent Steve Chaney. Included in this system are an incredible diversity of resources: pristine tundra; 13,000 foot peaks; sparkling streams; forests of spruce, fur, ponderosa, aspen and cottonwood; alpine wildflowers; verdant wetlands; and of course, the continent's tallest dunefield.

Released November 6, 2000 by Steve Chaney