"On July 14, 2000, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Valles Caldera Preservation Act, a visionary piece of legislation establishing the process by which an 89,000-acre ranch in northern New Mexico's Jemez Mountains would be transferred to the federal government and managed for public use." "The Valles Caldera had already been the focus of intense public interest for decades for good reason: it is a land of superlatives. In beauty, productivity, ecological and geological significance, scientific interest, cultural importance, and in its sheer magnificence it is a landscape of the first rank. Water as well as fire shaped the present region." "Valles Caldera: A Vision for New Mexico's National Preserve tells the natural and human history of the preserve and presents photographs of the awesome splendor of its valleys and mountains, mixed-conifer forests, grasslands, streams and geothermal springs, and species diversity. Of significance to all who recognize the importance of the preserve, this is the story of the unique administrative experiment now underway to manage its public lands."--BOOK JACKET.