Presidio and Valles Caldera: A preliminary assessment of their meaning for public resource management

Enacted four years apart, the authorizing legislation for the Presidio and Valles Caldera Trusts emphasizes revenue generation, self-sufficiency, and minimizing taxpayer costs. Factors other than improved incentives better explain their development. First, both are experiments in community management of public land, though more "top down" than grassroots. Second, the cultures of agencies and environmental interests play a role in adapting to this new preserve concept. Discussed are what trusts and government corporations bring to public land management, the institutional fit in the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service, the likelihood of self-sufficiency, the eco-geographical fit of these models, and management innovations.