San Luis Valley Regional Habitat Conservation Plan Draft for Public Review
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2.4Socioeconomic SettingHistory and DemographicsThe San Luis Valley was the first area of Colorado to be settled by European descendants. When the Valley and all of the territory drained by the Rio Grande was claimed by the King of Spain in 1598, very little was known about the area. Although a few exploration parties did venture into the Valley between 1598 and 1680, most of the Spaniards’ settlement activity took place in New Mexico, which became a Spanish colony in 1609, and a part of Mexico in 1821. Plans to colonize the Valley began in the 1840s with the dedication of several Mexican land grants in what is now Colorado. The Sangre de Cristo Grant, which coincides with present-day Costilla County, contained more than 1 million acres. In 1848, New Mexico and the San Luis Valley became part of the United States. As part of the settlement of the Sangre de Cristo Grant, the Town of San Luis was established by Hispanic settlers from New Mexico in 1851, and is now the oldest town in Colorado. In general, community dynamics of the Valley consist of a mix of ethnic and cultural groups who have settled in the area over the last 150 years. Descendants of many of the original Hispanic settlers are generally concentrated in the southern half of the Valley, along with the descendants of Mormon settlers in the towns of Manassa, Sanford, and Romeo. The northern half of the Valley is generally dominated by Anglo farming communities.
EconomicsWhile local government is the largest employer in the Valley, agriculture is the dominant industry. The Valley produces a variety of crops including potatoes, barley, oats, alfalfa, wheat, and legumes. Alamosa, Rio Grande, and Saguache counties have among the highest value of crop sales in the State. Livestock grazing also is prominent in the Valley. Most of the crop production in the Valley is dependent on irrigation provided by the complex network of surface water diversions, ground water wells, ditches, and canals described in Section 2.3. The Valley is one of the most economically depressed regions in Colorado (Table 2). According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the average per capita personal income for the Valley is estimated at $28,030, compared to a statewide average of $41,344. The population and economic indicators of the region lag most other regions in the State. The average poverty rate in 2009 was well above the State average, and Costilla County was almost double the State average. Unemployment in 2011 is also above the statewide average. Table 2. Socioeconomic and demographic statistics in the San Luis Valley.
* As defined by Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) Environmental Justice Guidance (CEQ 1997). ** Colorado LMI Gateway. 2011. http://lmigateway.coworkforce.com/lmigateway/default.asp. Sources: Colorado Demography Office. http://dola.colorado.gov/demog/Demog.cfm; Colorado Economic and Demographic Information System http://www.dola.state.co.us/is/cedishom.htm. 2.5Land Ownership and ManagementThe San Luis Valley consists of a mix of land uses and ownership. The different land ownership types and management arrangements are shown on Figure 7. Private lands comprise about 69 percent of the Valley. While most of the central Valley floor is privately owned, the outer areas, especially the northeast and southwest corners, are a mix of Federal- and State-owned lands. Table 3. Existing habitat totals by land ownership type.
Federal Land ManagementU.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceThe Service manages three wildlife refuges in the Valley: Alamosa NWR, Monte Vista NWR, and Baca NWR. The purpose of all three refuges is to support migratory birds, but all are managed for long-term habitat health. Alamosa NWR The Alamosa NWR is east and south of the City of Alamosa, along the eastern banks of the Rio Grande. This refuge contains known habitat for the flycatcher and potential habitat for the cuckoo. A Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) was completed for the Alamosa and Monte Vista NWRs in 2003. The CCP directs the Service to provide “dense multilayered native riparian vegetation” for the flycatcher and other species, and to protect sufficient habitat for the flycatcher (Service 2003). Figure 7. Land OwnershipFigure 8. Land Ownership Detail Monte Vista NWR The Monte Vista NWR is about 8 miles south of Monte Vista, on the western edge of the Valley. The refuge consists of a mix of wetland habitats, upland grassland and shrubland, and cultivated cropland, with a few small clusters of woody riparian vegetation along ditches and canals. There are no significant patches of riparian habitat that would likely support nesting flycatchers or cuckoos. The refuge is managed primarily for migratory bird habitat (Service 2003). Baca NWR The Baca NWR was authorized by Congress in 2000 with the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Act, and officially established in 2003 after the Secretary of the Interior deemed there were sufficient lands to manage as a refuge. The Baca NWR is in the northeastern portion of the Valley, along the base on the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, immediately north of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. The Baca NWR contains a diversity of habitat types, including semidesert shrublands and grasslands, irrigated meadows, wetlands, and riparian areas. Several stream corridors along the lower slopes of the mountains in the northeast corner of the refuge, including Willow Creek, Cottonwood Creek, and Deadman Creek, support cottonwood and willow habitat components. Woody riparian vegetation on the Baca NWR is currently limited, and it is unknown at this time if it supports flycatchers or cuckoos. Long-term Baca NWR management will focus on resource assessments and maintenance of pre-acquisition management regimes until a CCP for the refuge is in place (Service 2005). Bureau of Land ManagementThe BLM manages about 510,000 acres of land in the Valley. A large portion of this BLM land is in Conejos County, while the remainder is generally clustered along the lower mountain slopes on the western and northern portions of the Valley, and the area to the south of Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. The BLM’s McIntire-Simpson property along the Conejos River is known to support flycatcher and cuckoo breeding habitat. Additionally, migrant flycatchers have been observed in the spring on BLM lands along La Garita Creek, northwest of Center. While the BLM has been very involved in monitoring flycatcher activity on the McIntire-Simpson property, the agency does not currently have specific management plans for either of these areas. The BLM is currently developing land use plans for the McIntire-Simpson property with specific management guidelines for flycatchers, and is preparing a statewide biological assessment in compliance with the Section 7 obligations for flycatchers and cuckoos (Lucero, pers. comm. 2005). National Park ServiceThe National Park Service manages the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, which is in the northeast portion of the Valley along the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Originally designated as a National Monument in 1932, the park was expanded to about 85,000 acres and designated a National Park (43,000 acres) and National Preserve (42,000 acres) in 2004. The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is not believed to provide habitat for the flycatcher or cuckoo. U.S. Forest ServiceMost of the higher elevation forests surrounding the Valley are managed by Rio Grande National Forest, and are outside of the HCP boundary. Extensive survey efforts on national forest lands have not located any flycatchers (Hawks Aloft 2002, 2003, 2004; Ghormley 2011). U.S. Bureau of ReclamationReclamation manages land and facilities related to the San Luis Valley Project. These facilities include the Closed Basin facilities to the east of Alamosa. State Land ManagementState Wildlife AreasColorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) manages several SWAs in the Valley. The following SWAs may provide (or have the potential to provide) suitable habitat for the covered species:
Management of SWAs varies by parcel. Management activities on SWAs may include grazing, haying, fence construction, and water management. These activities may result in the incidental take of the covered species or their habitat, and also can be used as management tools to improve riparian habitat conditions. The Rio Grande and Higel SWAs are actively managed for wetland and riparian habitat enhancement. Other areas have little or no active habitat management. None of the SWAs in the Valley have management plans that specifically address habitat for the covered species. Several other SWAs in the Valley, including Russell Lakes SWA, San Luis Lakes SWA, Mountain Home Reservoir SWA, and Sanchez Reservoir SWA, are not believed to provide breeding habitat for the flycatcher or cuckoo. Other State LandsIn addition to the SWAs mentioned above, the State owns an additional 142,000 acres of land within the Valley. This includes San Luis Lakes State Park, which is adjacent to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, and is managed by Colorado State Parks. CPW owns the water storage rights on the San Luis Lake for all natural waters. The District and CPW jointly and separately own the storage rights for water elevations above those levels, in part, for the purposes of storing Closed Basin Project water. The Colorado State Land Board manages other State lands in the Valley. These lands are typically leased for agricultural or other uses that are consistent with adjoining lands15 and are not considered to be managed for conservation purposes, unless they are enrolled in the State’s Stewardship Trust program. Most of the Stewardship Trust lands in the Valley are on the Medano-Zapata Ranch south of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, and in the area south of La Jara Reservoir in Conejos County. None of the Stewardship Trust parcels are believed to contain high quality habitat for the covered species. Local Government-Owned LandIndividual jurisdictions own and manage several small portions of land within the Valley. These include town and city parks, golf courses, open space, and other public facilities. For the purposes of this HCP, these areas are treated the same as privately owned lands. Alamosa RanchIn 1997, the City of Alamosa acquired the 1,300-acre North Thomas Ranch along the northern edge of the Rio Grande. The primary reason for the purchase was to acquire the water rights associated with the ranch, now known as the Alamosa Ranch. Most of the ranch is leased for agricultural uses, primarily livestock grazing. One large portion of the ranch adjacent to the Rio Grande (Excelsior Tract 5) contains extensive woody riparian habitat, while a second area (Independent Tract 5) contains constructed ponds and wetlands with the potential for woody riparian habitat development/restoration. In 2008, the City initiated a public planning study to identify long-term land use options and recommendations. A draft report was completed in early 2009, and recommended that both of the tracts that contain existing or potential woody riparian habitat be preserved as natural areas, recognizing their context within the greater Rio Grande riparian corridor (City of Alamosa 2009). Conservation EasementsAbout 32,000 acres of private lands in the HCP plan area have conservation easements that protect the property or portions thereof from development. Existing conservation easements held by Federal agencies and private land trusts are described below in Section 2.7. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||