Alamosa/Monte Vista - National Wildlife Refuge Complex

9383 El Rancho Lane
Alamosa, CO 81101
Phone: (719) 589-4021

Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1962. Mt. Blanca (14,345 feet) and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains provide a stunning backdrop for this 11,169-acre refuge. It consists of wet meadows, river oxbows and riparian corridors, primarily within the flood plain of the Rio Grande, and dry uplands vegetated with greasewood and saltbush. These areas support songbirds, water birds, raptors, mule deer, beaver and coyotes.

Alamosa NWR has a wilder character than Monte Vista NWR. To preserve this wildness, the refuge is less intensively managed. However, water is still manipulated and other management tools such as burning and grazing are used. Water from the Rio Grande is supplemented by artesian wells and pumped water from the Closed Basin Project.

A wide variety of avian species uses the refuge. In late winter, bald eagles concentrate in the southern end of the refuge where the open water of the Rio Grande provides feeding opportunities. In the summer, black-necked stilts and avocets may be seen feeding on exposed mudflats. Migrating and nesting songbirds, as well as rough-legged hawks, utilize the important riparian areas along the river.

The headquarters and visitor center for the Alamosa/Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge Complex are located on Alamosa NWR. A two-mile round-trip hiking trail begins at the headquarters and follows the Rio Grande. The Bluff Overlook on the eastern side of the refuge may be reached by car and a new three-and-a-half-mile auto tour is in development and expected to open sometime in 1999.

Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge
Monte Vista NWR was established by the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission in 1953 to provide a place for wildlife, particularly waterfowl, in the San Luis Valley.

Water is intensively managed using numerous dikes and other water control structures to create wetland habitats ranging from shallow wet meadows to open water. Artesian wells, pumped wells and irrigation canals, some dating to the "ditch boom" of the 1880's, supply water. Many other management tools, including mowing, grazing, prescribed burning and farming are also used to ensure that refuge lands continue to provide food, cover and nesting habitat for waterfowl and other water birds.

The refuge is a major stopover for migrating greater sandhill cranes moving between their wintering area around Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico and breeding grounds in the northern United States and southern Canada.

Up to 20,000 cranes pass through in the spring and again in the fall. Three remaining endangered whooping cranes from a failed attempt to establish a wild migratory population in the 1980's can be seen migrating with their foster species, the sandhill crane.

Beginning in the 1980's, a herd of elk began using the refuge. At present, several hundred elk may be seen on the refuge seeking winter food and sanctuary from hunting pressure on nearby public lands.

In the San Luis Valley, desert and wetlands exist together side by side. Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge ensures wildlife a continuing place in this unique environment.

The refuge may be viewed along a 4-mile auto tour and from county roads open year-round.

For volunteer opportunities please contact:

Mike Blenden
Alamosa/Monte Vista NWR
9383 El Rancho Lane
Alamosa, CO 81101
Phone: 719-589-4021
E-mail: mike_blenden@mail.fws.gov