Running legends return
for Adams State’s Run of the Century
Adams State’s Run of the Century held over the weekend brought legends back and saw the unveiling of a new monument on campus to commemorate the 56 national team running titles that Adams State owns.
Running giants – no exaggeration – past and present returned to Alamosa and the campus of Adams State to participate in the university’s year-long Adams100 celebrations, a series of events designed to recognize the founding of the school in 1921.
Pablo Vigil, one of Adams State’s first running All Americans and historical in U.S. trail running, was among the running elite back in town. So was Eilish Flanagan, the most recent Olympian to come out of the Adams State program.
Joe Vigil, soon to be 92 in November, was nostalgic in his return to his hometown, sharing moments with his biographer, Pat Melgares, author of “Chasing Excellence: The Remarkable Life and Inspiring Vigilosophy of Coach Joe I. Vigil.
Enjoy our video and photo gallery of the event.
More news for your week ahead:
Alamosa County Commissioners
huddle for a special meeting Tuesday
ALAMOSA – Alamosa County Commissioners will take up whether to follow a Colorado Board of Health rule that requires home health care workers to be vaccinated for COVID-19. The commissioners so far have “kicked the can down the road” as Commissioner Mike Yohn said last week, but are expected to either follow the requirement for local home health workers who fall under the order, or take no action in which case Alamosa county-based home health care workers wouldn’t be required to be vaccinated, if they’re not already.
Why It Matters: The commissioners last week were presented with a draft proposal from Tammy Garcia, Home Health administrator for Alamosa County and Bev Strnad with SLV Public Health, that outlined how the county would adopt the rule. After going through it and discussing the plan, the commissioners decided to meet in executive session with County Attorney Jason Kelly to hear their options. That’s the meeting they’ve set up for this week because the clock is ticking on deadlines to meet the state order. The commissioners basically want to know: What happens if they don’t adopt the rule? Will the state suspend licenses of local home health care providers, for example, if the commissioners decide to take no action? Or, if they adopt the order, as the state health board would expect, will Alamosa County get sued for creating a local vaccine requirement, a question raised by individuals who have made public comments to the commissioners on the topic. Yohn, and fellow commissioners Lori Laske and Vern Heersink will decide the issue.
The Rule: On Aug. 30, the Colorado Board of Health established a rule that requires health care workers at general hospitals, community clinics, rehabilitation centers, nursing home facilities, home care agencies, and others to receive their dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 30, if they aren’t already vaccinated which most are, according to state figures. All told, an estimated 3,800 facilities are affected by the requirement. SLV Health’s board adopted its plan to follow the order back shortly after the state board’s decision.
Deadline this week for new
Colorado congressional redistricting map
SAN LUIS VALLEY – It’s deadline time for a new state congressional map. The Colorado Independent Redistricting Congressional Commission has given itself until Tuesday, Sept. 28, to adopt a new congressional map submitted by nonpartisan legislative staff to the Colorado Supreme Court by Oct. 1. The new congressional map will go into effect for the 2022 election.
The Colorado Independent Redistricting Commission has been meeting throughout the summer to hear testimony and review maps submitted by staff. The maps are based on 2020 U.S. Census data and will determine new boundaries for Colorado congressional districts.
Also being drawn are new Colorado house district and senate district maps. Those maps have a deadline of Oct. 11 to be adopted by the commission and submitted to the Colorado Supreme Court by Oct. 15.
CPW completes draft of deer and elk
management plans for SLV
CREEDE – Colorado Parks and Wildlife released completed draft plans on how to manage deer and elk populations for the areas surrounding Creede, Del Norte and South Fork. The draft plans are now open to public review and comment through Oct. 20.
CPW managers refer to the areas as Data Analysis Units D-36 for deer and E-34 for elk. The plans cover Game Management Units (GMUs) 76, 79 and 791 for deer and GMUs 76 and 79 for elk.
Many changes have occurred to the landscape of these areas over time, affecting habitat conditions that support the deer and elk populations.
The proposed herd management plans offer several alternatives for setting population and sex ratio objectives for the next 10 years. The objectives dictate the number and type of hunting licenses issued in those GMUs on an annual basis.
“We would like to get as much public feedback as we can regarding these plans,” said CPW terrestrial wildlife biologist Brent Frankland. “At this point, we are proposing objectives for these herds, but we don’t want to dictate to the public what should happen. With enough feedback and a desire for something different than what we have proposed, we may need to accept different objectives. The feedback we receive is crucial.”
The elk herd in the western region of the San Luis Valley has returned to the population levels seen throughout the 1990s at roughly 7,000 animals. The population declined in the early 2000s, reaching its lowest level in 2013 at fewer than 5,000. But the estimated elk population has bounced back and has now surpassed the previous herd plan objective of 4,000 to 5,500.
In the new elk draft herd management plan for 2022-2032, CPW proposes an increased population objective of 5,800 to 7,800 animals. The agency believes the herd’s ability to be maintained within the proposed objective range during the next 10 years is possible as long as calf recruitment and forage availability remain strong.
CPW also proposes keeping the elk post-hunt sex ratio objective at 20 to 25 bulls per 100 cows.
The current deer herd objectives supported a population of 2,000 to 2,500 deer. The proposed management plan for the next decade would support 2,200 to 2,800 deer with the current population estimate at roughly 2,500 animals.
CPW also proposes a slight increase in the sex ratio objectives from 20 to 25 bucks to 23 to 28 bucks per 100 does.
GMU 76 will continue as a fully limited unit, whereas GMU 79 will continue with an over-the-counter archery season and all other seasons limited.
Both the deer and elk draft plans are open to public comment through Oct. 20. Please submit public comments to Frankland at brent.frankland@state.co.us.
Comments also will be accepted by mail addressed to:
Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Attn. Brent Frankland
0722 S. CO Rd 1 East
Monte Vista, CO 81144
To view the deer herd management plan, go to: https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/Hunting/BigGame/DAU/DRAFTPLANS/D36_DRAFT_HMP.pdf
To view the elk herd management plan, go to: https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/Hunting/BigGame/DAU/DRAFTPLANS/E34_DRAFT_HMP.pdf