Brief by Central Staff
Drought – November 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine
Colorado’s five-year drought has struck the southern part of the state harder than the northern part — especially the San Juans and the San Luis Valley.
The effects show up with decreased harvests, and harder times for farmers and ranchers, and also wildlife, as reported by outdoor writer Charlie Meyers in the Oct. 6 Denver Post.
“Consider this,” he wrote. “Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge, once the poster child for North American duck production, now holds, in the estimation of manager Mike Blenden, barely 15 percent of the population of four years ago.”
Blenden was quoted further: “When the Monte Vista refuge was established, we had over 200 flowing artesian wells. Now there are none.”
With less surface water, the areas are less attractive to migrant waterfowl — and to hunters, who contribute considerably to rural economies.
