Clinton Hails Baca Ranch Deal
But Vows To Veto Funding Bill

WASHINGTON — In his weekend radio address, President Clinton announced that the federal government has completed an agreement to buy a scenic northern New Mexico cattle ranch from a Texas family for $101 million.

He glossed over the fact that he has vowed to veto the bill that would pay for it.

``I'm working closely with Congress to secure the funding to complete this purchase so that we can preserve this extraordinary land for all time,'' he said.

Environmental activists contend that the 95,000-acre Baca Ranch, nestled in the Jemez Mountains west of Santa Fe, is ripe for development.

``This may be the last chance to get the ranch into public ownership in a largely undisturbed state,'' said David Simon, southwest regional director of the National Parks and Conservation Association.

The ranch is known for its spectacular vistas, trout streams, meadows and mountains. It's also home to at least 6000 elk, one of the largest free-ranging herds in the country.

The ranch encompasses six valleys, including the Valle Grande, which is nearly six miles at its widest point. It also features hot springs, sulfur pools and a 15-mile-wide collapsed extinct volcano, the Valles Caldera.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., introduced legislation in 1997 to allow the U.S. Forest Service to buy the property from heirs of James P. Dunigan, a Texas oil man.

``We still have work to do, but we are clearly making great strides in our dream to open up this spectacular site to the public,'' Bingaman said.

The Dunigan family, of Abilene, announced last month that they were willing to sell the ranch. The announcement followed a summer of quiet lobbying by the Council on Environmental Quality, an arm of the White House.

Last week, Congress approved a $40 million down payment for the ranch.

But the money, in the 2000 Interior appropriations bill, also contains Republican-sponsored provisions objectionable to Clinton.

The measure ``is laden with provisions that would benefit special interests at the expense of our public interest and our environment,'' Clinton claimed.

``So let me be clear: If Congress sends me this Interior bill, I'll veto it,'' he said.

White House officials contend the $40 million for the Baca purchase is likely to survive a veto and remain in the final appropriations bill, but that may just be bold talk.

The Baca lies in U.S. Rep. Tom Udall's House district, and the New Mexico Democrat voted against the bill containing funding. Like Clinton, Udall blamed Republican-backed provisions for his actions, but under the House's traditional rules of engagement, Udall's vote may kill the Baca funding which he, along with Bingaman, avidly sought.

Udall said recently that he sent a letter to Clinton asking him to make sure that money for the Baca Ranch is included in any final agreement on Interior Department spending.

But Udall's vote against the bill means the ranch money almost certainly would be cut if Clinton vetoes the measure, explained Mike Scanlon, spokesman for House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas.

``What happens is the guy (Udall) voted against a project in his own district, and that usually dooms the project,'' Scanlon said.

New Mexico's congressional delegation plans to team up as early as next week to introduce a second bill to authorize purchase of the ranch by the Forest Service. The purchase agreement expires next April 30.

The purchase authorization is a compromise among Bingaman, Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and Clinton.

It calls for a panel of trustees appointed by the president to operate the Baca as a working ranch with a mandatory goal of supporting itself.

The trust is modeled after an experimental arrangement in place at the Presidio, a former U.S. Defense Department base on San Francisco Bay.

If the authorization bill passes and the full purchase price for the ranch is appropriated by Congress next session, the ranch could become part of the surrounding Santa Fe National Forest as soon as early 2001.

``The opportunity to protect the Baca has slipped through our fingers before, and may again if Congress doesn't come up with sufficient funding,'' said Pam Eaton, Four Corners regional director for The Wilderness Society.