The San Luis Valley Outdoor Report for the week of Sept. 17, 2025
Shawna Lease is the city of Alamosa’s new outdoor recreation supervisor and active member of Alamosa Volunteer Search and Rescue. We’ve had Shawna in the studio before to talk about her role in youth programming at the Boys & Girls Club and with the high school rock climbing team The Cliffhangers. Now she’s charged with prepping all of Alamosa’s big outdoor recreation events like the Halloween Bike Parade and Rio Frio as well as being a leading steward of our local outdoor spaces.
We dive into what the outdoors mean to her and the community and why it’s important for the city to have a dedicated outdoor recreation department.
“Get out and enjoy your 24 miles of trail…” she said.
Tune in here, or wherever you get your podcasts. We hope you enjoy.
MISSING HUNTERS IN RGNF
Two hunters went missing on Sept. 11 in the Rio Grande National Forest in Conejos County, caught up apparently in a fast-moving thunderstorm that had moved through the area. According to Conejos County Sheriff Garth Crowther, more than 70 people have been searching the past six days for Andrew Porter and Ian Stasko, both 25.
The two hunters were first reported missing near the Los Pinos Trailhead in the Rio Grande National Forest in Conejos County. The last communication was sent in the early afternoon on Sept. 11 to Porter’s fiancée, Bridget Murphy, via his Garmin InReach.
Family of the men issued a public alert on Wednesday, Sept. 17 and offered a reward for help in finding the hunters.
The men’s gear was found in the car parked at the trailhead.
A thunderstorm that one local called a “nightmare” swept through the area that evening. Crowther said the weather was “rainy with a lot of lightning.”
Conejos County Emergency Manager Rodney King told The Citizen that New Mexico Police Search and Rescue have been coordinating with them for the “last two days.” He also said “Colorado SAR should be arriving tomorrow to assist.”
Crowther also said that among the search and rescue assets involved are four helicopter teams, four dog teams, and locals on horses and on foot.
The families of Porter and Stasko are offering $10,000 for information that leads to the rescue of the two men. They are calling on more people to assist with the search.
Murphy told the Colorado Sun that two men are resourceful outdoorsmen. “We now live in North Carolina,” she told them, “but when we were in Montana, we got into elk hunting and have experienced similar terrain, and Ian has come out to Montana to backcountry hunt with us before. And last year, Ian and Andrew went hunting for a month in the crazy mountains in Montana. So this is not some willy-nilly trip that they took. They are very prepared outdoorsmen.”
OUTDOOR CONDITIONS
The close of summer has delivered some much-needed moisture here in September. An inch of rain has fallen so far this month to add a bit of recharge to the Rio Grande. Temperatures will stay in the 70s through the month. There is no hard freeze, yet, in the forecast.
The warmth has meant an early arrival of the fall, with some forecasts putting peak color season starting on Sept. 20 in higher elevations.
Alamosa Citizen intern Bri Robles put together a knockout list of places to visit to see peak fall colors in the coming weeks. You can check out that list here.
CALL FOR OUTDOOR FIELD REPORTS
We are always looking for outdoor field correspondents. If you’re out and about in the outdoors on your feet, on sticks, on two wheels or four, take some photos, take a video or two, and record a quick note about your outdoor adventure. Give us a little rundown of the conditions, your thoughts about the area, and where you’re at. We’re also fans of Keeping Colorado Wild, so even if you don’t want to tell us where you are, tell us how the outdoors make you feel and send it to info@alamosacitizen.com. Owen Woods, Chris Lopez, Marty Jones, Maddy Alhborn, Ken Marquez, Mike Henderson, and many more have earned their outdoor correspondent caps, and you can too.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
TROUT UNLIMITED MEETING
The San Luis Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited will be hosting its monthly meeting on Thursday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m. at Nino’s Restaurant, located at 326 Main St. in Alamosa.
Thursday’s program will be a presentation and discussion around hydrology in the Rio Grande basin and what that means for Trout. Pat McDermott, a staff engineer for the Division of Water Resources, has spent the last 31 years in the San Luis Valley studying the hydrology and water rights administration. Pat is a local who tries to listen and learn and dispense accurate data and options, diving deep into the long history and immense amount of data developed over 130 years. Pat is joined by Kevin Terry, TU’s southwest program director. Kevin has spent the last 12 years working with the water user community in the San Luis Valley to develop win-win programs that improve flows for fish and farms through multi-benefit strategies. As always, the meeting is open to the public. For more information call 719-588-7678.
LOBATOS BRIDGE COMMEMORATION
Celebrate the completion of the Outdoor Classroom & Recreation Enhancement commemoration at Lobatos Bridge on Friday, Sept. 26, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Years in the making, the project to increase user-friendliness and educational opportunities at the historic site is fully realized. The Lobatos Iron Bridge is the southernmost bridge in Colorado that spans the Rio Grande. A place of great significance, you can find the bridge on County Road G in Costilla County.
TRUE PENITENCE CLIMBING FEST
The 5th Annual True Penitence Climbing Festival is Friday-Sunday, Oct. 3-5, at Penitente Canyon. The annual climbing festival and competition is hosted by the SLV Climbers Alliance and put on every year when the sun hits the rocks walls at Penitente just right. You can find more information on event details, how to sign up, how to volunteer and what routes the competition will take place on at SLVClimb.org.
To find out more, you can also listen to the latest episode of the Outdoor Citizen featuring SLVCA co-founders Angela Lee and Wes O’Rourke (joined by their baby, Skyeler) HERE, or wherever you get your podcasts.
A TRIFECTA CELEBRATION
San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council has a “Trifecta Celebration” planned for Saturday, Nov. 8. It’s been 25 years since the passage of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Act; 25 years since the creation of a category of public lands called National Conservation Lands; and 25 years of council leadership by Christine Canaly. Now that’s a trifecta worth celebrating. The event is from 4-8 p.m. at Dunes Valley Distillery in Mosca. Let SLV Ecosystem Council know you’re coming by registering HERE.
OUTDOOR NEWS
US WILDLAND FIRE SERVICE
The Trump Administration, through an executive order and secretary order, has established the U.S. Wildland Fire Service.
According to a press release from the Department of Interior, the federal government says that fires are costing the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars annually, damaging infrastructure, disrupting agriculture, driving up food prices and threatening lives and livelihoods. “Decades of insufficient forest management – such as fuel build-up, invasive species spread and delayed treatments – have created conditions where wildfires burn hotter, faster and more destructively.”
Fire seasons are longer, fire intensity is increasing, and suppression and recovery costs are soaring. Beyond landscapes, the government said, wildfires now pose risks to national security, public health, energy and water supplies.
The USWFS will unify Interior’s fire bureaus and align operations with the Department of Agriculture through shared procurement, predictive services, research and policy reforms.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said, “For too long, outdated and fragmented systems have slowed our ability to fight fires and protect lives. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are cutting through the bureaucracy and building a unified, modern wildfire response system that works as fast and as fearlessly as the men and women on the front lines.”
Trump signed Executive Order Order 14308, Empowering Commonsense Wildfire Prevention and Response, which pins a lot of blame on poor fire response on local emergency management agencies and local governments. Through the Interior, the administration hopes to elevate local responses and elevate technologies to better fight and evaluate wildfires.
It’s important to note, the administration is wanting to reverse any regulations limiting the use of fire retardants on wildland fires, despite their reputation for being persistent sources of pollution.
The U.S. Wildland Fire Service will be officially established by the first part of 2026.
BSAR FUNDING
Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s statewide Backcountry Search and Rescue Program, or BSAR, distributed $2.25 million in funding to 36 counties to support local search and rescue teams who assist people during outdoor and backcountry emergencies.
Colorado is home to around 50 search and rescue organizations, which are 100 percent volunteer-based and provide search and rescue services free of charge to individuals lost, injured or stranded in the backcountry. While these organizations are county-based and coordinated through county sheriffs or county governments, CPW provides support and funding from the state level.
The state agency sells the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Search and Rescue Card and a search and rescue fee of 25 cents with the sale of fishing and hunting licenses and OHV registrations. However, as the demand for outdoor recreation increases in Colorado, so does the need for search and rescue services, CPW said.
To help bring in more BSAR funding for the state, it launched the Keep Colorado Wild Pass to residents in 2023. This pass allocates $2.5 million of annual sales to Colorado BSAR programs to fund rescue training, mental health programs and team equipment. The intent for this funding is to be a semi-fixed funding source that flexibly accommodates team strategies for priority purchases over time.
CPW BSAR Manager Perry Boydstun said, “We’re constantly amazed by the dedicated volunteer search and rescue professionals across Colorado who are ready to mobilize and help people in a time of need when they become stranded, lost or injured in the backcountry. …These types of outdoor rescues often require a specific type of training and gear, so it’s really important for the state to provide our local teams with the resources they need to complete rescues without jeopardizing their own safety.”
MAN SLASHED BY BEAR IN BOULDER
A mother black bear chased and scratched a man walking his dogs in Boulder last week. The man was only superficially injured, CPW said. The agency said the bear charged the man because she had a newborn cub nearby.
This is the time of year for increased bear sightings and interactions as they prepare for winter. Bears will search far and wide for food, so it’s important to take care of trash and be vigilant while outdoors.
KILLIAN JORNET 14ER PROJECT
Killian Jornet, an ultra mountain runner from Spain, is currently on the Nolan’s route of 14ers in the Sawatch Mountain Range. He’s already on his way through the Sangre De Cristos. Jornet is working on a project where he will scale 67 14ers in Colorado, California, and Washington called “States of Elevation.” Not only is he hiking 14ers in long, technical connecting routes, he’s riding his bike between routes and will ride his bike to California and Washington.
With a support crew to aid him along the way, the 37-year-old could be on the trails for a little longer than a month.
Tuesday morning, Jornet updated his instagram recapping his route from Humboldt Peak to the Crestone peaks, including Kit Caron and Challenger Point.
He wrote, “Conditions were very challenging during the first night … very stormy, snowing a lot, very windy, so I decided to get back. Today I did all the Crestone traverse, which was actually very beautiful – it’s the kind of terrain I like, very technical, scrambling all the way.”