A blocked road at VCNP. Courtesy photo

BY SETH GAYNER
White Rock

Valles Caldera National Preserve is changing, and the public deserves to understand what is happening to the historic routes that cross this landscape.

The National Park Service recently announced the closure and reclamation of the former natural-gas pipeline corridor in the northern portion of the preserve. The project includes smoothing roadbeds, removing berms and culverts, and “removing evidence of the access road.”

But there is more to this story than a pipeline.

NPS’s own Historic Resource Study states that the present road crossing the length of Valle San Antonio—today designated VC08, VC09 and VC10—was documented on the 1876 Wheeler map. The study says historical maps show an unimproved road running the length of Valle San Antonio from 1900 through the 1970s. It further concludes that much of this historic route appears potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

This is important because the pipeline did not create the history of this route. The historic route predates the pipeline by decades.

And VC09 isn’t the only example.

Historic routes also connected Santa Clara Canyon, Valle Toledo, Vallecitos and Valle Grande. NPS’s research documents routes in the area dating to the 1800s, including a Santa Clara Canyon route that appears to have followed an established wagon route dating to the 1890s.

Today, however, different portions of these historic corridors are being treated very differently.

One portion of VC09 is being reclaimed as part of the pipeline project, with the roadbed itself being removed. Meanwhile, portions of VC08 and VC10 are closed to public vehicle access even though they are part of the same broader historic San Antonio route identified by NPS.

That raises some important questions.

When a road follows a route that people have used for generations, should removing that road be viewed only as resource restoration—or is it also the removal of part of Valles Caldera’s history?

Before historic routes are closed, rerouted or physically erased:

• How was their historic significance evaluated?
• What cultural-resource review was conducted?
• What environmental analysis authorized the reclamation?
• Were alternatives considered that could protect the landscape while retaining appropriate public access?
• Why are some portions of these historic routes being physically removed while others are simply closed to public use?

These aren’t accusations. They are reasonable questions about the management of public land.

Protecting Valles Caldera’s natural and cultural resources is important. But protecting history should not mean erasing the places where that history happened.

These roads are more than lines on a map. They connect the landscape’s history to the people who have traveled through these mountains for generations.

Valles Caldera belongs to the American people.

Before more historic routes disappear, shouldn’t the public understand exactly what is being removed, why it is being removed, and what alternatives were considered?

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