Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge

Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge is located in the San Luis Valley, a high mountain basin located in south-central Colorado just south of Monte Vista, CO.  It’s one of three national wildlife refuges in the Valley that provides crucial feeding, resting, and breeding habitat for over 200 bird species and other wildlife. Alamosa and Monte Vista Wildlife Refuges are located at the south-central end of the Valley and Baca Refuge is located at the north end.

The Valley, sitting at 7,800 feet, extends over 100 miles from north to south and 50 miles from east to west. Three mountain ranges surround the Valley – the Sangre de Christo to the east, the San Juan to the west, and the Saguache to the north. At sunset, the highest peaks of the Sangre de Christo range take on a blood red glow which inspired the Spanish explorers to name them after the “Blood of Christ.”

The surrounding mountains feed the arid valley with precious surface water and replenish an expansive underground reservoir. The mountain snow melt and artesian wells provide needed water to the agricultural community and to the rivers, creeks, and wetlands that thread across the valley floor.

The Refuge’s wetlands are artificially made and intensively managed to provide habitat for a variety of waterfowl and other water birds. Water from irrigation canals and wells maintain this important wetland habitat. Mallards, pintails, teal, and Canada geese are common, as are American avocets, killdeer, white-faced ibis, egrets, and herons.

This Refuge is one of over 560 refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System – a network of lands set aside and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service specifically for wildlife. The Refuge System is a living heritage, conserving wildlife and habitat for people today and generations to come.
(Introduction courtesy of MVNWR)  https://www.fws.gov/refuge/monte_vista/

Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge Map

Rocky Mountain Greater Sandhill Cranes Migration Link
to Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge

Winter Habitat Areas

Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge is the central lifeblood link to the migration of the Rocky Mountain Greater Sandhill Cranes.

The Rocky Mountain Greater Sandhill Cranes spend their winters in a few concentrated areas in the southwestern US (Arizona and New Mexico) and Northern Mexico. (Map right)  one of the larger important winter grounds is south of the MVNWR in New Mexico at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.

Winter Grounds for Rocky Mountain Greater Sandhill Cranes

USFWS unpublished data

Summer Habitat Areas

The Rocky Mountain Greater Sandhill Cranes summer grounds are further north of the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge (MVNWR) in northern Colorado and throughout the greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. (see map)

These core areas for winter living & feeding habitats require a middle point migration stop over for refueling before reaching their summer living and feeding destinations.  Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge is the key middle point migration link. All three areas depend on water and quality food rich habitat in the arid mountain west.

Winter Grounds for Rocky Mountain Greater Sandhill Cranes

USFWS unpublished data

Migration Habitat Area

As the Rocky Mountain Sandhill Cranes begin the north migration from New Mexico, Arizona and Mexico to their summer grounds they create a major stop over event each spring  and a bottleneck of sorts, in the San Luis Valley at the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding farms and waterways.  As many as 25,000 Sandhill Cranes descend here for feed, water and rest before continuing on north to their summer habitat areas. During the spring migration Monte Vista Crane Festival is held in March each year. This same crane migration process is repeated each fall as they return to winter habitat areas.

The connection to water plays a large part in how the cranes use the area. They need to minimize the energy they expend to fly from wetlands to feeding grounds. Local barley fields provide the best left behind grain for the birds to eat while staying here in the San Luis Valley. Part of the management of habitat here partners with local agriculture to make sure they have sustainable food sources nearby to the all important wetlands they roost in.

Winter Grounds for Rocky Mountain Greater Sandhill Cranes

USFWS unpublished data

Additional Information

Monte Vista Crane Festival

Held Annually in March

Grain For Cranes Open Lands Project

Grain for Cranes – Colorado Open Lands

Cranes, Agriculture and Water