A journey of conservation
Pre-European
The San Luis Valley, nestled between the San Juan and Sangre de Cristo mountain
ranges, has long been a sanctuary for humans and wildlife. Once inhabited
by the Ute and Comanche Indians who hunted an abundance of elk, deer, pronghorn,
small game, and waterfowl.
Exploration
Diego de Vargas, a Spanish explorer, became the first European to see the
valley, and described the area as “Sierra de las Grullas” or
Mountains of the Cranes. Lieutenant Zebulon Pike’ s expedition traveled
through the valley while still a Spanish territory in 1806-1807. At the
end of the Mexican War in 1848, the valley then became an American territory.
Ditch Boom
An 1880's ditch boom left irrigation canals fanning the valley, making is
agriculturally productive. Farms, ranches, mines, and railroads soon developed
peppering the valley and surrounding mountains with small communities.
Refuge
Establishment
Sitting at an elevation of approximately 7,600
feet and at the western edge of the Central Flyway the San Luis Valley
has historically
provided crucial migratory bird habitat. Declining waterfowl wintering
habitat and waterfowl crop depredation prompted the Migratory Bird Conservation
Commission to create the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge in 1952.
Alamosa NWR was established in 1962 to serve as another link in a chain
of wetland habitat along the Central Flyway. In 1979, the two Refuges
were combined administratively into the Alamosa-Monte Vista National
Wildlife Refuge Complex.
