Brief by Marcia Darnell
San Luis Valley – February 2000 – Colorado Central Magazine
Moving on up
Chuck and Nancy Warner, who run the Valley’s Nature Conservancy office, are transferring to the Wenatchee area of Washington, presumably to duplicate the phenomenal work they’ve done here in the last three years.
Turkey Stuffing
The turkey stuff hit the fan when residents of an area near South Fork found a neighbor was storing turkey manure on his property — over 1 million pounds. The issue was being stored to mix with soil, but the odor caught the attention of neighbors and the reaction was swift, including a call to the EPA.
Rare Moment
The move to recall Alamosa County Commissioner Bob Zimmerman has gone kaput. The recall committee didn’t gather enough signatures to force an election and so didn’t bother to turn in its petitions. That means that, for the moment, there’s no recall in the works in the Valley.
Fish Farm
A new farm is under construction near Alamosa. A $5.1 million fish hatchery is going up to protect threatened and endangered aquatic species. Under the control of the state Division of Wildlife, the facility will be known as the Playa Blanca State Wildlife Area.
Birds Fly East
Federal officials have decided to move a recovery program for whooping cranes east, meaning problems for Monte Vista. The town hosts a crane festival every March, in which bird-watchers enjoy spotting the many Sandhill and few whooping cranes. Fewer whoopers may mean fewer attendees to the festival, as well as the end of a dream of establishing a whooping flock here.
