Appropriations Committee Approves Final Funding for Baca Ranch Acquisition

SENATOR ALLARD: APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEEAPPROVES FINAL FUNDING FOR BACA RANCH ACQUISITION

GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK NOW COMPLETE

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Wayne Allard (R-Colorado) on Wednesday announced the Senate Appropriations Committee has included $3.4 million for the acquisition of the Baca Ranch by the federal government in the FY 2005 Interior Appropriations bill approved Tuesday. The funding will complete the Baca Ranch National Wildlife Refuge; adjacent to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Senator Allard has obtained $30 million to put this project together over the past four years.

"I am very pleased to see that funding for the Great Sand Dunes National Park was included in next years' Interior Appropriations bill," Senator Allard said. "This provides the last component of funding needed to complete the transfer of the Baca Ranch property from the Nature Conservancy to the federal government."

The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Act of 2000, introduced by Senator Allard, created the opportunity for the federal government to purchase and protect the unique ecosystem of the Baca Ranch. The Baca Ranch, comprising more than 151 square miles, is one of the largest unfragmented landscapes in the state. The ranch harbors important wildlife, including vast elk herds and migratory waterfowl and shorebirds such as Sandhill Cranes and White-Faced Ibis. The property ranges in elevation from 7,500 feet on the valley floor to 14,165 feet at the top of Kit Carson Peak.