The San Luis Valley Outdoor Report for the week of Dec. 24, 2025.
It’s our last episode of the year.
We’re joined by all-around outdoors enthusiast and recreationist Frank Novotny to talk about ice fishing. Novotny helped Outdoor Citizen host Marty Jones get into ice fishing some years ago.
The two reminisce and talk about ice fishing and fishing in the Valley’s colder waters. Novotny also reflects on ice fishing’s evolution over the years.
Tune in here, or wherever you get your podcasts. We hope you enjoy.
OUTDOOR CONDITIONS
Alamosa established new record high temperatures for Dec. 19, Dec. 20, Dec. 21 and Dec. 22 here in the final month of 2025. The daytime high reached 63 degrees on Dec. 19, 59 degrees on Dec. 20, 58 degrees on Dec. 21 and 57 on Dec. 22.
While the weather may seem a bit out of the ordinary, this December is fairly typical for recent Decembers past.
In 2024, a typical December day was 45.4 degrees; so far this year it is 46 degrees.
In 2021, the average daily temp was 45.6 degrees and 42.3 in 2022.
December is also usually the snowiest of the months with 4.6 inches typical, although snow on Christmas Day is a rarity. The last time it snowed on Christmas was 2016, with an accumulation of 1.5 inches.
Merry Christmas to you, snow or not.
SKI CONDITIONS
The Wolf Creek ski area is currently working with a 32 inch summit base depth and no new snow in the past week. Snow showers are likely for Wolf Creek over the holiday and into the weekend.
Meanwhile, Monarch has a 15 inch base and very little snow in the forecast. Monarch is currently constructing its “No Name” park expansion. New terrain is set to open this ski season.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
GSD BIRD COUNT
Join birders and nature enthusiasts in the San Luis Valley to participate in Audubon’s annual Christmas Bird Count, on Saturday, January 3, 2026. The Christmas Bird Count is the longest-running wintertime tradition in the Western Hemisphere. This vital citizen science effort helps track bird populations and trends, contributing over a century of data to conservation efforts.
Birders of all skill levels are welcome and encouraged to join.
Registration is required. Register by calling Park Biologist Dewane Mosher at 719-378-6363 or email him at dewane_mosher@nps.gov. Registered volunteers receive a fee waiver for park entrance on the day of the count.
The bird count will start at 7:45 a.m. on Jan. 3 at the Great Sand Dunes Visitor Center.
RIO FRIO ICE FEST
The Rio Frio Ice Fest is nearly here. The Rio Frio Ice Fest hosts one of America’s unique 5k races. The race kicks off at 10 a.m. Saturday, January 24, 2026. This spectacular 5k race is conducted entirely on the frozen Rio Grande.
This is a chip-timed race. Race bibs, chips and swag bags are available for pickup from 6-7:30 p.m. at Knee Knockers Bar & Grill on Friday, Jan. 23, and from 8-9:30 a.m. at the Alamosa Senior Citizens Center the day of the race.
If you have any questions about this race, please contact the race director at dcarleo@alamosa.gov. To learn more go to RioRaces.com.
OUTDOOR NEWS
CDOT COMPLETES WILDLIFE OVERPASS
Spanning six lanes of traffic and seeing more than 100,000 vehicles a day, the 1-25 Greenland Wildlife Overpass near Larkspur will now allow elk, pronghorn, mule deer, black bears, mountain lions and a variety of other species to cross the interstate with ease. Earlier in December, the Colorado Department of Transportation completed construction of the structure, including covering the overpass surface with dirt and vegetation. According to CDOT, the project was completed in less than a year, ahead of schedule, and on budget.
This overpass connects 39,000 acres of habitat on both sides of I-25 between Larkspur and Monument.
“Colorado is leading the way in reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions, and improving safety for both our motorists and wildlife. The I-25 Greenland wildlife overpass is a momentous feat, in our continued work to expand safe transportation options for both humans and wildlife, protecting critical habitat, and our amazing outdoor spaces for generations to come,” said Governor Polis.
The overpass is strategically located to address the 3.7 mile gap from other wildlife crossings and completes the wildlife crossing system of underpasses and fencing as a part of the I-25 South Gap project, which improved 18 miles of I-25 from Castle Rock to Monument.
Prior to the system being built, there was an average of one wildlife-vehicle crash a day in the fall and spring wildlife movement seasons. CDOT’s research shows that the five underpasses are successfully being used by large and small mammals. However, the Greenland overpass was specifically designed and constructed to provide safe passage for elk and pronghorn. These species prefer wide open overpass structures.
The overpass is the single largest bridge structure for wildlife in North America and one of the largest in the world at 200 feet wide and 209 feet long covering 41,800 square feet, nearly an acre. 76 girders hold up the bridge deck.
CATCH UP ON WOLVES
We have a closer look at the year in wolves with a recap of some of the things that have kept wolves in the news. The source of Colorado’s next wolves is still up in the air. The Trump Administration told Colorado Parks and Wildlife they can no longer source wolves from Canada, even though wolves are not endangered or listed as species of concern there. Washington denied a request from Colorado to provide wolves and the Colville Tribes in Oregon and Washington have rescinded another offer of wolf sources.
What is perhaps the biggest piece of news to happen this year in regard to wolves is the U.S. House passing a bill that would delist wolves from the Endangered Species Act. Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert first introduced the bill in January and over the past year she and 36 other Republicans in Congress have been working to get the bill passed and sent to the Senate. The bill, if passed in the Senate, would have wolves delisted within 60 days; it has a provision that would prohibit challenges to the delisting in federal court.
SEARCH FOR GRIZZLY IN CANADA ENDS
A search for a British Columbian grizzly sow that attacked students during a school camping trip in November has been called off for the season. According to the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service, a grizzly attacked students and teachers in Bella Coola, BC, near the Nuxalk Nation. While the group stopped for lunch, a female grizzly appeared out of nowhere and began attacking the children. Parents and teachers used two whole cans of bear spray and anything they could get their hands on. After the bear injured 11 school children and two adults, the group was able to scare the bear off.
This prompted a massive search by wildlife authorities. Four grizzly bears in the area were darted and assessed at a lab. Those four grizzlies have been ruled out and released back into the wild.
As bears begin denning, wildlife authorities will have a harder time locating bears. So for now equipment has been removed and the search has been called off. Twenty-four conservation officers worked over two weeks to find the bear.
BCCOS Inspector Kevin Van Damme said, “This was an extraordinary response to an extraordinary attack — our investigation determined the behaviour and actions of this bear were aggressive and unlike any other documented grizzly bear attack we have seen in BC, or Canada. We truly appreciate and value the support we received from our partners, including the Nuxalk Nation and their Guardians, RCMP, forensics lab staff and ministry partners, who worked alongside us throughout this incident.”
There are roughly 14,000 grizzly bears in British Columbia with a density of about 50 bears per thousand square kilometers.