WHO WE ARE

Twenty-Four Years of Dedication to Public Lands' Integrity 

 

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1996-2000

SLVEC submitted a Citizen's Management Alternative (CMA). It’s recommendations influenced approximately one-third of the 1.86 million acres of Rio Grande National Forest (RGNF) to maintain its Back Country or Roadless character.

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1998 

SLVEC submitted a Citizen's Management Alternative (CMA). 

As a result, approximately one-half of the 1.86 million acres of Rio Grande National Forest (RGNF) is now prescribed as either Back Country or Designated Wilderness.

 

1999

SLVEC organized, advocated, and testified before Congress to create the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Act of 2000.  This Act preserved what was formerly known as the Baca Ranch.  The 100,000 acre ranch is now part of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Baca National Wildlife Refuge, and a Baca Mountain Tract addition to National Forest. 

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2001-2003

SLVEC cooperated with the Southern Rockies Conservation Alliance (SRCA) to inventory one-half million acres of Roadless Areas within Rio Grande National Forest (RGNF), using ground-truthing forms for documentation and GIS/GPS points imbedded in photographs. Over 10,000 photos were taken and linked to GPS.

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2001-2004

SLVEC was appointed to the Great Sand Dunes NPS Management Plan 

Advisory Council by Interior Secretary Gayle Norton. SLVEC recommended 50,000 acres of wilderness designation.  Once the mineral rights beneath the National Park have been acquired, this Wilderness recommendation will move forward.

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2004-2005

SLVEC performed a BLM Rapid Assessment Inventory on 1⁄2 million acres of BLM roads for the SLV BLM Travel Management Plan and submitted a Citizens Management Alternative. As a result, a 51% road closure (mostly duplicate roads) was recommended by BLM. 

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2005-2006

Developers Leavell McCombs Joint Venture submitted a plat design for building 2,122 units near the Continental Divide, a proposed development called the "Village at Wolf Creek".  SLVEC and Colorado Wild filed a lawsuit challenging the Mineral County Commissioners' acceptance of this proposal.   District Judge Kuenhold agreed with the filing on the basis that there is no year round access to the land. 

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2005-2012

SLVEC initiated a Water Quality Awareness Project, supported in part by an EPA CARE 1 Grant (Community Action for a Renewed Environment).  Fewer than ten grants were awarded throughout the United States.  The CARE Project set priorities based on community input to determine next steps for impacting environmental health issues.  SLVEC also received an EPA Environmental Stewardship Award (2007) for organizing free household well testing in small communities throughout the SLV. Over 800 household wells were tested and SLVEC documented baseline results. SLVEC conducted Environmental Health Risk assessments within 13 communities of the SLV. We also sent out 500 free radon test kits in order to test for this harmful gas within homes and buildings. SLVEC also received an EPA award for Environmental Justice Community Problem-Solving.

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2006

SLVEC testified before Congress and the Rio Grande Natural Area Act was passed.  This Act designated 33 miles of Rio Grande Corridor (from the southern boundary of the Alamosa Wildlife Refuge to the New Mexico State line) and extended land management protections one-quarter mile from both sides of the river.  This area was placed under BLM jurisdiction. 

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2006

Judge Marcia Krieger agreed with an adjacent landowner and SLVEC lawsuit challenge of the Rio Ox-bow Land Exchange claiming that it was not in the public interest. This decision protected some of the few remaining public access points in the Upper Rio Grande. The case has also brought precedence regarding public/private land trades in Colorado to require an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). 

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2006-2015

SLVEC and Colorado Wild challenged the Forest Service Environmental Impact Statement decision that granted access to "Village at Wolf Creek". In 2008, Supreme Court Justice Kane agreed with our claims, including that the Forest Service had narrowed the scope of the EIS. A variation of "Village at Wolf Creek" that includes a new land exchange scenario was approved by the Forest Service. SLVEC and the Friends of Wolf Creek (FWC) filed a law suit to contest the Forest Service's decision. An agreement was reached and there will be no development until this suit is settled. 

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2006-2015

SLVEC spearheaded a legal challenge of oil and gas drilling on the Baca National Wildlife Refuge on the basis that the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was being ignored. This case was settled with US Fish and Wildlife Service and a complete NEPA analysis will be required for any further exploration. We continue in our efforts to have the mineral rights purchased and transferred to the refuge, which would permanently protect this area. 

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2007

SLVEC mobilized and partnered with citizens of Conejos County over concerns of oil and gas leasing in the San Luis Hills and Flat Top Mesa. These are BLM lands with designation as Areas of Critical and Environmental Concern (ACEC’s).  These parcels were withdrawn from consideration due to citizen action.

 

2007-2015

SLVEC served for 6 years on the National Heritage Area (NHA) Board which finalized a Management Plan for the Sangre de Cristo NHA.  This area was signed into law by President Obama in March 2009, establishing cultural, historical, and natural resource preservation and protection for three southern counties within the San Luis Valley: Conejos, Costilla and Alamosa. The Great Sand Dunes Park and Preserve lands are included within the NHA.

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2008

SLVEC galvanized citizen input on oil and gas leasing offered on the Rio Grande National Forest and BLM lands.  Leasing on these 144,000 acres was deferred indefinitely because of citizen input and Internal Board of Land Appeals case law. 

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2008-2015

SLVEC worked with the public, provided comment, and monitored activity on BLM Solar Energy Zones (SEZ's) on 22,000 acres of land within the San Luis Valley. 

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2010

SLVEC co-sponsored a Solar Workshop at SLV Rural Electric Coop in Monte Vista, CO to bring small businesses and communities together to discuss a community-scale solar siting process.  

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2011

With Conejos County Clean Water taking the lead, SLVEC reached a settlement agreement regarding the Department of Energy (DOE) proposal for a low level radioactive waste (trans-waste) facility in Antonito. This trans-waste transfer point has been withdrawn. The material was to originate from Los Alamos, NM. If the DOE decides to reopen this proposal, a site specific public process will have to be conducted, as dictated by the National Environmental Policy Act. 

 

2011 

SLVEC developed the San Luis Valley Renewable Energy Master Plan and 

encouraged support of community-based siting of solar installations. 

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2011

SLVEC organized public comments that challenged the Air Force Low Altitude Tactical Navigation (LATN) daily flyovers, brought together organizations, and shared information with Colorado and New Mexico constituencies. The proposed project spanned 62,000 sq. miles and impacted 38 counties in some of Colorado's most remote backcountry. This proposal has been postponed indefinitely due to public outcry. 

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2011

SLVEC hosted multiple public education forums concerning a proposed high capacity transmission line over La Veta Pass.  These forums included  the Transmission Line Coalition (TLC) and two utility companies, Tri-State and Xcel.  As a result, this project was retired. In 2012, Xcel abandoned its participation in the La Veta Pass line and chose instead to upgrade its transmission lines over Poncha Pass, with SLVEC support. 

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2011-2013

SLVEC spearheaded a regional effort to identify environmental health hazards and opportunities, funded by a CARE grant from the EPA. In partnership with the public health departments around the Valley, local businesses, and community members, SLVEC assessed the environmental health of this region. The CARE Project worked with all six counties in the San Luis Valley: Alamosa, Costilla, Conejos, Rio Grande, Mineral and Saguache Counties. Phase I of the CARE project was completed in 2012 with the critical task of identifying priorities for a healthy environment  (i.e., protection of air and water quality and Solid Waste Management solutions.)

 

2011- 2015

SLVEC filed an official legal complaint to force compliance on proposed oil and gas drilling at San Francisco Creek, near Del Norte, CO.  SLVEC asserted that the protection of agriculturally-based economy is paramount to keeping the aquifers contaminant free.  An Application to Drill was filed with Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) for 5,000 ft exploratory oil and gas wells by Hughes Oil.  BLM released an Environmental Assessment in January 2014 that permitted drilling.  Rio Grande County Commissioners and Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) sponsored an independent study that recommended sealing the drill bore all the way through any water bearing formations, which would run the entire depth of the proposed well.  Hughes leases expired.

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2013-2015

SLVEC initiated an Indoor Air Quality project to build capacity (i.e., training and education) and provide service coordination to promote healthy indoor environments in homes, schools and child care settings. SLVEC educated school nurses and staff, home health care providers, health care professionals, student nurses and early childhood educators to, train, do outreach and/or demonstration projects that seek to reduce exposure of indoor air contaminants and asthma triggers (dust, mold, second hand smoke, and smoke from wood burning stoves). 

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2014-2015

SLVEC sponsored and participated in a host of events that commemorated the creation of the National Wilderness System in 1964. We honored the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act by setting up booths at various community events, participating in public outreach, and organizing celebrations of art, music and poetry. We collaborated with federal agencies, such as the Fish and Wildlife Service, National Forests, Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service.

 

2015

SLVEC and Friends of Wolf Creek filed a lawsuit in June, challenging the Forest Service Record of Decision (ROD) that announced their intention to accept the amended land exchange proposed by the Village at Wolf Creek developers, Leavell McCombs Joint Venture.  The amended land exchange would have provided highway access to the proposed developmentof 1,972 housing units. This high-altitude location receives an average of 428 inches of snow annually, and is an important wildlife corridor for many species, including the reintroduced Canadian Lynx. 

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2015-2016

SLVEC collaborated with Conejos Clean Water to identify illegal dump sites in Conejos and Costilla Counties.  We forged community momentum, cleaned up a dozen sites, and provided education on responsible waste disposal and 

recycling. Currently, we’re working towards the same goals in Alamosa and Saguache counties. 

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2015-2019

The Rio Grande National Forest was chosen as the first Forest Service Plan revision in Region 8 to use the 2012 Forest Service Planning Rules. After years of research, SLVEC and partners (The Wilderness Society, Defenders of Wildlife, Quiet Use Coalition, Rocky Mountain Wild, and Rocky Smith, consultant) submitted a Conservation Alternative (CA) which used the most current science to determine recommendations for the new land management plan.  We were guided by the 2012 Forest Service Planning Rules, which requires strong consideration to environmental protection and the establishment of monitoring systems that measure the management of the forests' resources. 

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The Forest Service received over 400 hundred local personal public comments in support of conservation alternative D, (which included many of our recommendations) and also received local County Commissioner support for 58,000 acres of recommended wilderness, in the Sangre de Cristo mountains.  This remains in the Forest Service draft Record of Decision. 

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We facilitated data collection and sharing among neighboring agencies; we coordinated events including scientists for the sake of presenting their findings about wildlife migration and habitat fragmentation. 

 

The Rio Grande Forest has been managed for its remote and wild character for the last twenty years. Our recommendations included further protections for roadless areas. The recommendations we submitted exemplify the landscape connectivity for which we are advocate. Wilderness designation is our anchor and we are building protective landscape descriptions around these core habitat areas.

 

2016-2017

SLVEC completed a 10-year regional SLV Solid Waste Diversion and Recycling Plan, approved by the State of Colorado.  This plan implemented and promoted recycling and proper trash disposal in the San Luis Valley. 

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2017

On May 19th, 2017, The Honorable Senior Federal District Court Judge Richard Matsch, now deceased, issued an Order. The Federal Judge set aside the Forest Service Wolf Creek Land Exchange and directed the Forest Service to address development impacts on the National Forest in general, and lynx and their habitat, specifically, for the sake of any future “Village Proposals.” 

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2018

In July 2018, the Forest Service responded to Judge Matsch's 2017 order with the following press release: “A new draft record of decision from the Rio Grande National Forest is designed to provide reasonable access to the 288-acre parcel (in-holding) via a new road corridor. The proposed road would be approximately 1,610 feet in length and would be within a 100-foot corridor with a total area of about 3.7 acres.” 

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“This new draft decision provides the access that is legally required for private inholdings. Furthermore, this access option was fully analyzed in 2014, so no new analysis is needed. The draft decision is based on Alternative 3, the so called Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) alternative, as analyzed in the final environmental impact statement completed for the Village at Wolf Creek Access Project in 2014.” 

 

2019

SLVEC and the Friends of Wolf Creek, filed a complaint in Federal District Court in May challenging the Forest Service ANILCA claim and highlighting the other “public interest” issues that were determined by Judge Matsch’s Court. 

 

2020

The Wolf Creek case has been recently reassigned to Judge Christine Arguello’s Federal District Court.  SLVEC and the Friends of Wolf Creek recently filed a stipulation to make sure that no ground-disturbing activities occurs before the Judge has a chance to review the case. This should hold through 2020. 

 

2020

The Forest Service final Record of Decision (ROD) and Plan was released in May 2020, ignoring most of their Alternative D conservation recommendations. We are preparing to support Wilderness designation legislation for the 47,000 acres recommended in the Sangre de Christos. SLVEC and partners are disappointed in the majority of final Plan.  It is considered one of weakest in the nation terms of protecting landscape connectivity and wildlife.