SLV Outdoor Report | Week of February 4, 2026

The Annual Congreso de Acequias is Saturday, March 7, from 9 a.m-5 p.m. at Centennial School in San Luis. The Congreso is held to celebrate land, water and community. It is free and open to the public.

The 43rd Annual Monte Vista Crane Festival is the weekend of March 6-8. Celebrate as thousands of Sandhill Cranes migrate through the San Luis Valley and fill the skies and the pastures with their prehistoric song and dance. With crafts, local art, speakers and tours, it’s a weekend filled with community engagement and lots of birds. 

Saturday’s keynote is by author and cartoonist Rosemary Mosco for a humorous exploration of birds that blends art, science and history. Learn why cartoons can help conserve our beloved avifauna. Discover the shocking secrets of common species — and what they can teach us about ourselves.

Tickets are on sale at mvcranefest.org

The Rio Grande State of the Basin Symposium is Saturday, March 28, at the Adams State University campus. The symposium’s keynote speaker is Colorado-based journalist Ben Goldfarb whose work has appeared in major national publications including The New York Times, the New Yorker, Smithsonian Magazine, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Orion Magazine and National Geographic. His books include “Eager: The Surprising Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter” (2018) and “Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping Our Planet” (2023).

It is free to register to attend. Watch for registration information HERE.

MountainFilm on Tour is Thursday, April 16, at the Monte Vista Church Project. Stay tuned for more details. MountainFilm on Tour is a touring film festival that makes stops all over the world highlighting documentary films showing the strength and depth of the indomitable human spirit.

Applications are now open for the 2026 Colorado Trout Unlimited River Conservation and Fly Fishing camp for Youth Conservation and Fly Fishing Camp. The fishing camp is a week-long outdoor learning experience for youth ages 14-18. The camp will be held June 14-20 in Almont, Colorado, and focuses on fly fishing skills, river ecology, conservation, and leadership.

San Luis Valley Trout Unlimited is proud to sponsor two local students to attend camp on scholarship. Interested students and families are encouraged to apply.

Applications are due Sunday, March 1. For more information or to inquire about scholarship opportunities and information on registration, please contact Kevin Milder at SLVtroutunlimited@gmail.com. Camp details and applications are also available at coloradotu.org/youthcamp.

Gray wolf 2305 — a three-year-old breeding male in the King Mountain Pack — died during routine collaring operations in Routt County on Jan. 28.

“All wildlife capture operations come with a risk and while we meticulously prepare and take every precaution to ensure a positive outcome, there is always the possibility, even if small, that the worst happens,” said Laura Clellan, Colorado Parks and Wildlife acting director. “Our staff and contractors carefully followed CPW Animal Care and Use Committee guidelines during this operation, but when the animal was delivered to CPW staff in the field from the initial capture site, it was unresponsive. Our team initiated resuscitation efforts but determined the animal had died.”

Final results and lab tests from the necropsy are still pending. An independent veterinary pathologist was in attendance for the necropsy. They will confirm the state’s exam results and will help determine if there were any underlying conditions that contributed to the death of the wolf.

During the capture operation, CPW was able to confirm and observe four pups in the King Mountain Pack.

“It’s not yet possible to understand the long-term implications to the King Mountain Pack as a result of this mortality,” said CPW Wolf Conservation Program Manager Eric Odell. “We will continue to monitor this pack to evaluate their status and how they are contributing to the establishment of a self-sustaining wolf population in Colorado.”

CPW was conducting the capture operation to maintain collars that had low batteries. The state agency said it likes to keep at least two members of a breeding pack collared. 

“These sorts of capture efforts are a routine part of CPW’s wolf monitoring efforts and the program has had very successful capture operations up to this point,” Clellan said. “Operations like this are standard across a number of different species and are an important aspect of successful wildlife management in Colorado. We continue to be confident in the abilities of our staff who lead the processing side of these efforts as well as the contractors who conduct the captures.”

In addition to the King Mountain Pack, CPW continues to monitor three other confirmed packs and other known wolves in the state. The number of pups successfully recruited into the population will be included in the minimum population count in CPW’s annual gray wolf report which will be available early summer.

In January, the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) confirmed three new detections of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in backyard flocks in Larimer and Logan counties and an additional detection in a commercial egg layer operation in Weld County. All locations are currently under quarantine orders and control areas have been set up in Weld and Logan counties. 

The largest of egg operations impacted is a commercial egg laying facility in Weld County that houses 1.33 million chickens.

“The confirmation of these new HPAI cases is a reminder that the virus is actively circulating in our state,” said Dr. Maggie Baldwin, Colorado state veterinarian. “We urge all flock owners to remain highly vigilant, monitor their birds closely for any signs of illness and, most critically, to immediately reinforce and practice strict biosecurity measures to protect their flocks.” READ MORE

210 runners ran abreast of the not so frio Rio Grande last weekend. Even though the river wasn’t frozen over, the skies opened and snowed on runners and walkers and delivered that snow all day.  Del Norte high schooler Mads Kreutzer won the 5K race with a time of 19 minutes 10 seconds. We have a full recap video on the Alamosa Citizen YouTube channel. 

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve will host a Scientists in Parks paid summer internship program, and a Southwest Conservation Corps paid internship position for the 2026 summer season.

The natural resource management assistant position, offered through the Scientists in Parks program, will work with the Resource Management Branch, which includes the park biologist, archeologist and geologist. The intern will assist with ongoing scientific research, inventory and monitoring of park conditions in the field. Monitoring, data collection and reporting for dark sky conditions will be a primary focus.

The intern will also work directly with the Interpretation, Education and Visitor Services Branch to prepare and present dark sky and astronomy-themed public evening programs. They will also assist park rangers with public information and engagement at the visitor center and on roving field patrols in and around the main dunes area.

This Scientists in Parks internship runs for 12 weeks, from late May to mid-August, coinciding with many summer breaks at schools and universities. Students from the San Luis Valley are highly encouraged to apply. This position is ideal for degree-seeking college students, recent graduates or current high school students who have taken science and/or communications coursework.

Applications for this position will be accepted until Feb. 15 or until 60 completed applications are received. Potential interns are encouraged to apply early. For more information and to apply, visit Go.nps.gov/GRSA_Jobs.

The park also is collaborating with Southwest Conservation Corps in recruiting an interpretation assistant intern through its Individual Placement Program to assist interpretive staff in the Interpretation, Education, and Visitor Services Branch. This paid position runs for 33 weeks from mid-March to late October and will focus on creating and presenting public programs, orienting visitors while patrolling outdoor areas and staffing the visitor center information desk.

This internship offers opportunities to work alongside other park professionals outside of the interpretation team to learn more about the mission of the National Park Service. Applications, benefits and additional information for the Interpretive Assistant position can also be found at Go.nps.gov/GRSA_Jobs.

For specific questions about these summer paid internship opportunities, contact park ranger Luke Anders at 719-378-6342 or Luke_Anders@nps.gov

Colorado Parks and Wildlife made the decision to not reintroduce a round of wolves in 2026. The decision comes after the latest wolf death in northwestern Colorado and an October letter from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service alerting Colorado that its transport of wolves from Canada is in violation of the Endangered Species Act.

CPW said it will continue to make all management decisions on a case-by-case basis after evaluating the circumstances, the Colorado Wolf Restoration and Management Plan, and relevant law.

Until next year, CPW said it will continue working with livestock producers and stakeholders in the state addressing conflict as they come up and responding to any events of wolf conflict that happen. The agency said it is continuing to explore options for where wolves will come from in the 2026-2027 window. 

“This is a complicated effort and I want to encourage all stakeholders to continue to work together as we move toward the goal of creating a self-sustaining population of wolves in the state, while at the same time minimizing conflict with livestock,” said Clellan.

READ MORE