From The Pueblo Chieftain (Matt Hildner):
The Bureau of Land Management is proposing to expand the boundaries of the Blanca Wetlands in the hope of qualifying for federal conservation dollars.
The proposal would expand the area, which is managed as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern, from 9,714 acres to 122,762 acres.
But the boundary expansion would not give the agency control over either land or water rights in the area that now sit in private hands. The agency does, however, hope to approach willing sellers within the boundary. The BLM hopes to use Land and Water Conservation Fund dollars to make any such purchases in the future and doing so requires the land be inside an ACEC boundary, said Andrew Archuleta, who oversees the agency’s San Luis Valley office.
Money from the fund is issued at Congress’ discretion.
The end goal of the expansion and any potential land or water purchases is to partially restore what was once a string of wetlands that stretched along the east side of the valley.
The agency has issued a preliminary environmental assessment on the expansion that includes alternatives to its preferred proposal.
The Blanca Wetlands initially were designated for its playa and marsh habitats that host large populations of water birds, amphibians and macroinvertebrates.
From The Pueblo Chieftain (Matt Hildner):
The Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area handed out $65,400 in grants for preservation projects in a three-county area of the San Luis Valley, area officials announced May 20.
The heritage area, which was authorized by Congress in 2009 to preserve and promote the cultural and historic heritage of Alamosa, Conejos and Costilla counties, gave awards toward seven projects.
Recipients include the SW Conservation Corps for summer youth employment on conservation projects and the Costilla County Economic Development Council for construction documents for the Sangre de Cristo Cultural Heritage Center.
The Sangre de Cristo Acequia Association also earned an award for a handbook and the hosting of the 2013 Acequia Congresso, as did the Rio Grande Headwaters for a conservation easement on the Conejos River. The heritage area also awarded the Adams State University Archaeology Field School for work at Fort Massachusetts, the San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition for the Healthy Habits program at farmers markets and for the stable restoration of the Trujillo Homestead, a recently designated national historic landmark.
The heritage area is administered by a nonprofit board of volunteers who represent the three counties.