In 2002, the Nature Conservancy purchased the Baca Ranch—an area of —for $31.28 million. Financing was provided by the Department of the Interior, the Colorado State Land Board and private donors. The Baca Ranch had property located in the valley and the adjacent mountains, ranging in elevation from west of the dunes to the summit of Kit Carson Peak. The purchase approximately tripled the size of the monument. The ranch was split into three sections: the Sangre de Cristos section east of Crestone became part of the Rio Grande National Forest; the section west of the dunes was designated the Baca National Wildlife Refuge and managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service; the section east of the dunes was transferred first to the Rio Grande National Forest and later redesignated a national preserve in 2004 managed by the National Park Service. The national preserve remains open to regulated seasonal hunting, as it was when designated national forest land, but is protected from logging and mining activities which are generally permitted in national forests.