The Rio Grande meanders across the flat Valley floor

DEL NORTE — The Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust (RiGHT) has been awarded their second $1 million grant from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) toward conservation of the Rio Grande corridor in the San Luis Valley. The funds were approved at the Sept. 9 meeting of the national Migratory Bird Conservation Commission.

The newly awarded funds will be used over the coming year to complete two important conservation easements on the Rio Grande river corridor. The federal dollars also serve as matching funds to previous awards from the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund (GOCO), the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s Habitat Partnership Program, The Nature Conservancy, Mineral County, the Rio Grande Water Conservation District, and other local and regional supporters.

With generous donations from the participating landowners, the NAWCA award will help achieve more than $12 million in conservation value on critical river ranches. These projects are part of the overall Rio Grande Initiative, a project led by RiGHT, along with key partners The Nature Conservancy and Ducks Unlimited, to conserve the ranches, important wildlife habitat and scenic beauty of the Rio Grande.

A portion of the NAWCA award will also fund improved water delivery infrastructure on the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge, which includes an important reach of the Rio Grande and senior water rights that provide vital habitat for waterfowl and migrating birds.



For the complete article see the 09-24-2009 issue.

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