Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge

Refuges deploy a host of scientifically sound management tools to address biological challenges. These tools span active water management to wilderness character monitoring, all aimed at ensuring a balanced conservation approach to benefit both wildlife and people.

Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge provides food, cover, and breeding habitat for migratory birds and resident wildlife. The Refuge conserves and enhances a mixture of wetland and desert habitats found in the area to accomplish these goals. Habitat management tools used on the Refuge include water and wetland management, weed control, haying, grazing, and prescribed fire.

Water

With only 7 inches of precipitation annually, water is the lifeblood of the San Luis Valley. Spring snow melt from the Sangre de Cristo Range and San Juan Mountains supply most of the water to the valley, which feeds the Rio Grande, agricultural ditches, and natural areas. This inflow of water creates a unique mosaic of wetland and desert habitats, each with its own plant and animal community.  The Refuge includes more than 15 miles of critical riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.

Learn more about riparian habitat adjacent to the Rio Grande. For nearly 150 years, farmers have diverted flows from the river to irrigate the arid landscape of the San Luis Valley. This practice has significantly limited the river’s flow pattern, altering its ability to move across the landscape as it had done for thousands of years. These reduced flows considerably impact the riparian areas.  We use water from ditches that run mostly parallel to the river. These ditches were constructed in the early 1900s for irrigation. The water is used to simulate the annual flooding which historically occurred across the landscape and to manage thousands of acres of wetland habitats for the benefit of migratory birds. Numerous dikes and other water control structures send water to a patchwork of diverse wetland habitats ranging from shallow wet meadows to open water. Levels in the ponds and wetlands change to provide birds with adequate aquatic vegetation and invertebrates for food and escape cover.

Grazing and Burning

Grazing livestock, haying grasses, and conducting prescribed burns are management tools we use. From helping to control invasive plants to providing forage for wildlife, these tools help to enhance habitats for plants and wildlife on the Refuge.

Invasive Weeds

Invasive weeds are a threat to the Refuge. Applying herbicides, using water management, and grazing livestock are used to combat invasive weeds. Tall whitetop (Lepidium latifolium) is one of the most problematic. It thrives in saline moist soils and is incredibly adaptable. During times of environmental stress, such as drought, Tall whitetop can infest natural habitats, frequently out competing native vegetation and turning an area into a monoculture of weeds.