In seven of the initial eight days here in February, the daily high has reached the 50-degree mark. There is hope that more seasonal and cooler weather will materialize as the month progresses. The early part of this week will remain in the 50s, with cloudcover helping mask the bright sun rays. It’s a week for Valentines. More below:
1. Collapsing Upper Rio Grande
Forecast for a “poor” spring runoff. Reservoir storage that is “not well.” An unconfined aquifer that is getting “worse and worse,” not better. Such is the reality of the situation for the Upper Rio Grande Basin and warnings given to the San Luis Valley farming and ranching community on the final day of the 2026 Southern Rocky Mountain Ag Conference. “We do anticipate at this moment, at this date that it’s going to be a poor runoff in 2026,” said Pat McDermott of the Colorado Division of Water Resources. It is customary for him and state division engineer Craig Cotten to provide a look back at the recent water year and a look ahead to the next spring runoff.
2. Sticking together
It’s not so much the heat of the days but the lack of freezing cold in the nights that Nathan Coombs highlighted for fellow farmers and ranchers at the close of last week’s ag conference. “We’re not sunburning that much harder, we’re just losing the cold,” Coombs said. Both Coombs and Heather Dutton told the room full of ag producers that it was imperative they stick together in their efforts to manage the Rio Grande Basin’s collapsing water supply. “We just really wanted to highlight that the premise of people coming together to try to manage our resources as a group still remains in our eyes a really good idea and a really hopeful idea and something we can do,” Dutton said. “Unfortunately, the system that we assumed that we’d have, the system has changed and so the need for us to continue to change too and to recognize that as the water availability has decreased, the need to adjust the plan is great.”
3. Rio Grande Compact: Texas v. NM
Everyone is waiting for a ruling from Special Master D. Brooks Smith on whether he’s signing off on an agreement in a decades-long dispute between Texas and New Mexico on Rio Grande Compact water. At the end of September 2025, Smith held a hearing on a compact decree that would settle the 2014 lawsuit in which Texas sued New Mexico for not delivering enough compact water to its border. Colorado is a third party to the lawsuit since it is part of the overall Rio Grande Compact. All the parties are still waiting for Smith’s ruling on whether the agreement between the three compact states and the federal government will stand. “Each of the states testified that they were good with a resolution on it and the United States, also a party to the case, also testified that they were good with the resolution,” Colorado Division of Water Resources division engineer Craig Cotten said at last week’s ag conference. A signal from Smith is expected before the spring runoff. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately has to sign off on any ruling from the special master.
4. The Valley Pod: Flora Archuleta
Flora Archuleta has experienced a lot in her years as executive director of the San Luis Valley Immigration Resource Center. In this episode of The Valley Pod, she talks about what’s changed in the tactics of the federal government as it enforces the nation’s immigration laws.
150 Years: Stagecoaching into the SLV
Good stuff from the history column by Barb Kruse that publishes exclusively on AlamosaCitizen.com as she writes about the gold rush in Summitville: “Gold fever spread widely through newspapers in the Eastern United States and Europe in the 1870s. They carried specific directions about how to get to the San Luis Valley to find your fortune. Take the train from Kansas City to Pueblo. At Pueblo get a wagon, horse, blankets and necessary provisions. Take a stagecoach by way of Poncha Pass to Del Norte. Or, optionally, a stage from Cañon City to Del Norte.
6. Ken Salazar’s borderlands
Ken Salazar made a point of announcing a new partnership with History Colorado on Feb. 2, the anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. Salazar, most recently ambassador to Mexico, and History Colorado are teaming up on an ongoing project called Borderlands of Southern Colorado that features his papers and artifacts and the Salazar family’s history in the San Luis Valley. “I can’t think of a better time in history to really lift up the real story of the Southwest and the real story of the border,” Salazar said of the collaboration. Salazar has been vocal since his return as ambassador in wanting to see an expansion of a protected Rio Grande corridor. “Through exhibitions, programs and experiences, “Borderlands” showcases the human stories and landscapes that define this region both before and after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the U.S.-Mexico War and ceded vast territories to the United States, forever changing the map of North America,” noted History Colorado in its promotion of the borderlands initiative.
7. New archbishop for Colorado
Pope Leo XIV over the weekend appointed a new archbishop to lead Colorado’s 830,000 or so Catholics. James Golka, bishop of the Colorado Springs Diocese since April 2021, is the new archbishop and replaces Samuel J. Aquila, who became archbishop in 2012 and announced his retirement plans back in September.
8. The Valley represents
One Valley native had up-close view of Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show. Aspen Quirco, who hails from Alamosa, was a mariachi violinist, part of the large musical entourage on the field in Santa Clara on Sunday.
9. From The Sports Page
Adams State women’s basketball is chasing the RMAC basketball crown. With six games left in conference play, Adams State is 13-1 and a game behind conference-leading Colorado Mesa, 14-0, in the RMAC basketball standings. Adams is on an 8-game win streak, the latest victory a 91-68 win over Fort Lewis at Plachy Hall on Saturday. Adams has four of its last six games on the road. Colorado Mesa handled the Grizzlies back in January … Adams State men’s team surprised league-leading Fort Lewis with a thrilling 95-93 win on the Grizzlies home floor Saturday. Adams State is 9-5 in the RMAC. The RMAC basketball tournament is slated for March 3-7.