The San Juan National Forest recently acquired 160 acres of elk and mule deer habitat within an important migration corridor on the Pagosa Ranger District.
The joint effort, which began in 2021 between the U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) and the Saunders family, who resides in Albuquerque, N.M., was completed through a conveyance from RMEF to the San Juan National Forest. The Land and Water Conservation Fund funded the acquisition and received broad support from sportsman’s and conservation groups, as well as the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and Archuleta County.
“This would not have happened without the conservation vision, ethic, and passion of the Saunders family,” said Kyle Weaver, RMEF president and CEO. “We salute and thank them as well as our San Juan National Forest partners for working together to conserve this important landscape.”
The property is located 14 miles southeast of Pagosa Springs, along National Forest System Road 663 (Buckles Lake Road).
It features aspen stands, mountain meadows, scattered ponderosa pine and mixed conifer forests, two ponds, intermittent streams, and scenic views of V Rock Mountain.
The parcel is important transitional habitat for elk and mule deer within one of the major migration routes from the San Juan Mountains to lower-elevation winter ranges.
It will now be open to nonmotorized public use and managed similarly to the surrounding National Forest System lands.
In addition to conserving important habitat, acquisition of the parcel provides for more efficient wildfire management. Developed inholdings can pose challenges during fire suppression as fire managers prioritize protection of structures, often investing significant resources into that protection.
“When we can work with willing sellers to reduce potential development within the national forest boundary, it makes sense from a fire management perspective,” said Pagosa District Ranger Joshua Peck. “As Pagosa continues to grow and develop, new structures in the wildland interface are a real challenge we need to acknowledge.”
The V Rock land acquisition is located within the Rio Chama Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project (CFLRP) area that spans 3.8 million acres across four national forests in southwest Colorado and northern New Mexico.
The overarching goal of the CFLRP is to increase the pace and scale of forest and watershed restoration across all lands using a collaborative approach to planning and implementation.
The V Rock land acquisition supports CFLRP goals associated with maintaining wildlife habitat quality and connectivity for native and desired non-native wildlife species and the ability to expand wildfire response decision space, improve wildfire outcomes, and increase protection of homes and infrastructure across the landscape.
“Conserving land in the public trust is at the core of the Forest Service mission,” said Dave Neely, forest supervisor for the San Juan National Forest. “With the invaluable assistance from our partners at RMEF, this acquisition enhances that conservation mission for current and future generations.”
For information on the San Juan National Forest, call (970) 247-4874 or visit the forest website.
RMEF has carried out extensive conservation work in this part of the state over the years and holds four voluntary conservation agreements protecting 12,119 acres of wildlife habitat just 10 miles to the south of V Rock Mountain.
