In the 2007 calendar year, the district completed activities under each category listed below to address the natural resource concern.

Costilla Conservation District 903 Main Street San Luis, CO 81152 Phone: 719-672-3673 Fax: 719-672-3315   Monthly Meeting: Second Monday every month Mission Statement: The Districts' overall objective is to promote sound use, development and treatment of soil, water and related resources to maintain a healthy resource base for current and future needs.

Major Economy: Agriculture

 

Points of Interest:  Stations of the Cross, Mount Blanci, Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River

 

Costilla Conservation District was organized on April 9, 1975 as a result of a consolidation of the Trinchera, Mount Blanca, Sanchez and Culebra Soil Conservation Districts. A certificate of organization was issued by the Secretary of State of Colorado on May 23, 1975.

 

Costilla Conservation District encompasses all the land in Costilla County except for those areas that had been previously excluded. Total acreage within the District is 732,797 acres of privately owned land. The District is located in a high mountain valley, bounded on the East and North by the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the Rio Grande River on the West, and the New Mexico State line to the South. Elevations range from 7,000 feet in the valley bottom to mountain peaks of over 14,000 feet. The frost free period is approximately 100 days and the average annual precipitation in the valley floor is approximately 8 inches.

 

The total acreage of the District is 732,797 acres.

 

Land ownership within the District is:

 

Land Use & Acreage:

  

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  Addressing Local Concerns  

Districts generate funding through local, state, and federal sources.  Local citizens elect the District board to identify and address local natural resource issues.  The board involves locals and experts to help develop strategic plans.  The district holds open monthly meetings, publications, events, presentations to communicate with district partners and residents about district services, good conservation practices and financial/technical services.

 

This conservation district serves its landowners as they participate in:

 

The Costilla Conservation District (CCD) is actively addressing the natural resource concerns within the District as it represents the local land owners at Monthly Board Meetings, Acequia Meetings, County Commissioner Meetings, Waterfest Meetings and events, Golf Tournament, DARCA Conference, Stakeholder workshops, Rio Grande Watershed Meetings, and Weed Seminars.  

 

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  Fostering Sound Range Management 

Ensuring sound range management for future generations is important to conserve natural resources and improve production as well as enhance wildlife habitat.

 

This conservation district serves its landowners as they participate in:

 

• The District is addressing range management though wild fire mitigation, maintaining three weather stations, participating in camps, workshops, poster contests, tours and information publications, the Vega Grazing Project, Conservationist of the Year Award, sponsoring conservation information seminars, cross fencing,
• Carpenter Ranch Range Management, scholarship program for students interested in conservation, donated materials to local schools and the Los Valles Youth Corp to aid in conservation education. 

 

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  Preventing Soil Erosion     

Preventing erosion preserves soil producitivity long term for agriculture, production, and other uses on rural lands.  It also provides improved stream flows, decreases sedimentation, and improves overall water quality.  Some common practices that help producers prevent soil erosion and build soil quality include no till, minimum tillage and cover cropping.

 

This conservation district serves its landowners as they participate in:

 

The District is addressing Soil Erosion by participating in the CSU Potato Grain Conference, the Expand La Veta Living Snow Fence planting area, Waterfest activities, increasing Irrigation Water Management (IWM) on Acequia/vara Strips & for Trinchera Irrigation participants, Snow Reports,Trinchera Irrigation ($290,000.00 project), and Carpenter Ranch Range Management.

 

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  Protecting Water Quality & Quantity 

The District provides assistance to managers, landowners, and residents with conservation practices and management tools to protect near stream areas.  In addition, they work together on reducing the movement of chemicals and nutrients to streams in sedimentation or runoff.  These efforts help stabilize streambanks and protect water bodies from impacts.

 

This conservation district serves its landowners as they participate in:

 

The District  has increased IWM on acequia and vara strips, participated in local watershed work group meetings and Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) development, published and distributed snow survey information on a timely basis to producers, supported river restoration projects on Culebra, Trinchera, and San Francisco Creeks, and  attended and participated in Waterfest meetings and events, and Watershed Meetings.

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 Preventing the Spread of Noxious Weeds 

Conservation Districts implement measures to reduce the spread of invasive populations and help implement weed control projects.

 

This conservation district serves its landowners as they participate in:

 

The District is preventing the spread of noxious weeds by purchasing and implementing the use of goats to eradicate noxious weeds in the county. The District is inventorying weeds as needed and hosting a Annual Summer Weed Seminar.

Colorado Department of Agriculture · 700 Kipling Street · Suite 4000 · Lakewood, CO 80215-8000 ·(303) 239-4100