Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge

In the heart of the arid San Luis Valley lies a birdwatchers paradise. Lush wetlands provide year-round habitat for songbirds, water birds, coyotes, deer and other wildlife. Starting in 1962 a series of water works were created in the ANWR to restore some of the wetlands that were common throughout the valley when it was first settled. In March and September, twenty thousand Sandhill Cranes migrate through the valley and use the refuges as a major stopping point. This migration is one of the valley's greatest spectacles and is celebrated every spring in early March with the Monte Vista Crane Festival.