The Trust Has Taken Steps to Achieve the Preservation Act’s Goals but Has Made Less Progress Than Expected

Although the Trust has taken steps to establish and implement a number  of programs and activities to achieve the goals of the Preservation Act, it is  behind the schedule it set for itself in 2004. A number of factors, such as  high turnover among Board members and key management staff, have  contributed to this slow progress, according to former and current Board  members and staff. 2). The Trust Has Taken Its First Steps toward Becoming Financially Self-Sustaining

The Preservation Act’s findings and purposes section states, among other  things, that the Baca Ranch could serve as a model for sustainable land  development and use of timber, grazing, and recreation and that  management of the ranch through a trust would eventually allow the ranch  to become financially self-sustaining. Over its existence, the Trust  recognized it had no marketable timber, but it has experimented with a  number of grazing options and expanded recreational opportunities. Thus, at the  close of fiscal year 2009, the Trust continued to work mostly on phase 1 of  its programs and activities—at least 5 years behind its anticipated  schedule (see fig. In addition, according to the Trust’s Board and staff, they discovered upon  assuming their responsibilities that the preserve’s cultural and natural  resources and infrastructure were not as healthy or robust as they had  expected or as described in the opening to the Preservation Act. The Trust Has Failed to Put in Place Key Elements of an Effective Management Program

As of September 2009, the Trust had yet to develop and put in place  several key elements of an effective management control program for a  government corporation, as required under GPRA and as we  recommended in our previous report. Additionally,  the Trust’s financial management has been weak. Consequently, it has  been difficult for Congress and the public to understand the Trust’s long- term goals and objectives, annual plans and performance, or progress. Nevertheless, the Trust is continuing to explore  opportunities for becoming financially self-sustaining. Identifying, developing, or expanding revenue-generating activities that  would enable the Trust to raise sufficient funds to become financially self- sustaining. Obtaining funding for major capital investments to construct and  preserve facilities and other infrastructure needed to generate revenues. Legal constraints. Provisions of the Preservation Act—specifically, that the  Trust expires in 2020 and that it is prohibited from entering into leases  lasting longer than 10 years—limit the Trust’s ability to attract  concessionaires or other enterprises desiring to establish long-term  businesses on the preserve that could generate revenue for the Trust. We therefore  reiterate the need for the Trust to fully implement recommendations from  our 2005 report, specifically, continue to develop—and systematically  implement—the following elements of effective management:    a formal strategic plan that includes measurable goals and objectives;    a plan, including planned timelines, for becoming financially self-   mechanisms for periodic monitoring and reporting of the Trust’s  performance to Congress and other stakeholders.
Why GAO Did This Study

In creating the Valles Caldera National Preserve from a unique parcel of land in north-central New Mexico, and by creating the Valles Caldera Trust as a wholly owned government corporation to manage the preserve, the Valles Caldera Preservation Act of 2000 established a 20-year public-private experiment to operate the preserve without continued federal funding. The Trust is charged with achieving a number of goals, including becoming financially self-sustaining by the end of fiscal year 2015. This report, GAO's second and last mandated by the Preservation Act, examines (1) the Trust's progress since 2000; (2) the extent to which the Trust has fulfilled certain of its obligations as a government corporation; and (3) the challenges the Trust faces to achieve the Preservation Act's goals. GAO analyzed documents, financial records, and other Trust information and interviewed current and former members of the Trust's Board and staff, as well as representatives of local interest groups and stakeholders.

What GAO Found

The Trust has taken steps to establish and implement a number of programs and activities to achieve the goals of the Preservation Act. It has rehabilitated roads, buildings, fences, and other infrastructure; created a science program; experimented with a variety of grazing options; taken steps to manage its forests; expanded recreational opportunities; and taken its first steps toward becoming financially self-sustaining. Nevertheless, it is at least 5 years behind the schedule it set for itself in 2004. According to Trust officials, a number of factors--including high turnover among Board members and key staff and cultural and natural resources and infrastructure that were not as healthy or robust as originally believed--have delayed its progress. Through fiscal year 2009, the Trust had yet to develop and put in place several key elements of an effective management control program for a government corporation. Specifically, the Trust lacked a strategic plan and annual performance plans, and it had not systematically monitored or reported on its progress--elements called for by the Government Performance and Results Act and recommended by GAO in its first report in 2005. The Trust's financial management has also been weak. Consequently, it has been difficult for Congress and the public to understand the Trust's goals and objectives, annual plans and performance, or progress. According to current Trust officials, becoming financially self-sustaining, particularly by the end of fiscal year 2015 when federal appropriations are due to expire, is the Trust's biggest challenge. Most of the Trust's other challenges follow from this one, including identifying, developing, or expanding revenue-generating activities that would enable the Trust to raise sufficient funds; obtaining funds for major capital investments; and addressing a number of legal constraints--such as its authority to enter into long-term leases or acquire property--which potentially limit its ability to attract long-term businesses that could generate revenues. Nevertheless, the Trust is continuing to explore opportunities for becoming financially self-sustaining.