Secretary Glickman and Santa Clara Pueblo Governor Announce Agreement Allowing
Pueblo to Purchase its Headwaters
                                                               
                                            Release No. 0036.00
                                                               
                                    Susan McAvoy (202) 720-4623
                                          susan.mcavoy@usda.gov
                                   Brent Handley (202) 205-0945
                                          bhandley/wo@fs.fed.us
                                                               
                                                               
SECRETARY GLICKMAN AND SANTA CLARA PUEBLO GOVERNOR ANNOUNCE AGREEMENT ALLOWING
PUEBLO TO PURCHASE ITS HEADWATERS
     WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2000--Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and Santa
Clara Pueblo Governor Denny Gutierrez today signed an agreement that will
allow the Santa Clara Pueblo, a federally-recognized Indian Tribe, to purchase
approximately 5,000 acres of the Baca Ranch.  This purchase area contains the
upper reaches of the Santa Clara Canyon and the  headwaters of the Santa Clara
Creek which flows through the Santa Clara Reservation.  The agreement is
contingent upon the completion of the USDA Forest Service's purchase of the
Baca Ranch's remaining 90,000 acres.    
     The purchase price of approximately $4.5 million, that is being provided
by the Lannan Foundation of Santa Fe, is based upon this portion of the
ranch's 1air market value as determined by a federally approved appraisal. 
This portion of the ranch is outside the rim of the Valles Caldera which
comprises the bulk of the Baca Ranch property.  The agreement signed today
provides that the purchase by the Santa Clara Pueblo will take place at the
same time the Forest Service purchases the remainder of the Baca Ranch. 
     The federal purchase of the Baca Ranch is one of the top conservation
priorities of the Clinton Administration.  Efforts to purchase the ranch for
the American people have been ongoing for more than two years.        
     The contract reached earlier with the owners of the Baca Ranch permits
the Forest Service to assign a portion of its Baca Ranch purchase rights to
another party.  The agreement with the Santa Clara Pueblo carries out this
provision.   The Pueblo's acquisition of these lands has been supported by
members of the New Mexico Congressional Delegation and the National Congress
of American Indians, as well as by local environmental organizations.
     Located in the Jemez Mountains region west of Santa Fe, New Mexico, the
95,000 acre Baca Ranch sustains one of the nation's largest wild elk herds and
contains the world renowned Valles Caldera, the collapsed crater of an ancient
volcano.  The ranch encompasses an incomparable variety of natural features
and some of the finest opportunities for high-quality  public enjoyment in the
Southwest.  The federal purchase of the Baca Ranch, to include this agreement
with the Santa Clara Pueblo, is contingent upon congressional authorization. 
The purchase contract for the Baca Ranch is effective through April 30. 
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Editor's Note:  For additional information from the Santa Clara Pueblo,
contact Mr. Alvin Warren.  His telephone number is (505) 753-7326.