ALAMOSA — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) held an opening of a new visitor center on April 19 at the San Luis Valley National Wildlife Refuge Complex Visitor Center and Headquarters on El Rancho Lane in Alamosa.

The new office and visitor center are on the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge, which was established in 1963 to provide food, cover, and habitat for migratory birds and wildlife.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's oldest conservation agency. The agency dates to 1871 when Congress established the U.S. Fish Commission to study why the nation's food fishes were declining and to recommend ways to reverse that decline. In 1903, President Roosevelt established the first national wildlife refuge at Pelican Island in Florida.

In the San Luis Valley, Alamosa, Monte Vista, and Baca National Wildlife Refuges are areas set aside for migratory birds and resident wildlife. The refuges are now combined administratively into the San Luis Valley National Wildlife Refuge Complex. The Alamosa Refuge is 12,026 acres of wetland areas, riparian corridors, wet meadows, and river oxbows. The wetland and river habitats provide a wildlife oasis in this dry region. These habitats support a variety of wildlife, including songbirds, water birds, raptors, deer, beavers, coyotes, and more.

The artificially created wetlands on the 16,279 Monte Vista Refuge which was established in 1952, are intensively managed to provide habitat for a wide variety of waterfowl and other water birds. Mallards, pintails, teals, and Canada geese are common, as are American avocets, killdeers, white-faced ibises, egrets, and herons. Irrigation canals and wells provide precious water to maintain this important wetland habitat.

The Baca Refuge is comprised of 92,500 acres of a highly diverse combination of shrublands, grasslands, wet meadows, playa wetlands, and riparian areas. The refuge was established in 2000.

The three wildlife refuges protect 119,330 acres of habitat in the San Luis Valley. By comparison, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve protects 149,028 acres.

During the grand opening of the visitor center, Refuge Manager Suzanne Beauchaine offered this reporter a tour of the center and discussed the many projects underway for the refugees that will be reported on in the Valley Courier. Beauchaine was also preparing to take visitors on a tour of the refuge as part of the grand opening celebration.

Among those attending the celebration were Erin Minks San Luis Valley Regional Director for U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, Maggie Gaddis with the Colorado Native Plant Society, and Barbara Kraus, history columnist for the Valley Courier

In other USFWS news, the seasonal closure of the Rio Grande Nature Trail on the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge began on April 15. The closure is to protect the federally endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher. The diminutive bird is dependent on riparian habitat and utilizes cottonwoods for migration, foraging, and nesting. Disruptive human activities such as hiking and biking can disrupt nesting territory establishment, foraging, and nesting. Disturbances can affect the ability of adult flycatchers to be attentive to their eggs or fledglings. This can potentially expose nests to predators and decrease breeding success and slow recovery.

The trail closure reduces the conflicts between human activities and the flycatchers during the nesting season when they are most vulnerable to the adverse impacts of disturbance.

The reopening of the trail is expected when the nesting season is completed, on or about Sept. 1.

The Friends of the San Luis Valley Wildlife Refuges is offering free Saturday morning bird walks that last several hours. The next walk is scheduled for April 27 at 8 a.m. and will meet at the Malm Trail in Alamosa. For more information, visit www.slvrefuges.org.