Colorado Conservationist Honored with National Wetlands Award

Doubling the pace of conservation along the Rio Grande, and “keeping the wet in wetlands”

(Washington, DC) The Environmental Law Institute announced today that Rio de la Vista, a Colorado land and water conservationist, received the 2011 National Wetlands Award for Conservation and Restoration. Rio de la Vista’s enthusiasm, creativity, and commitment to bringing together broad-based partnerships has helped conserve more than 27,000 acres of wetlands, many on private lands, across the San Luis Valley in Colorado.

“I have witnessed [Ms. de la Vista’s] dedication and ability to build a community of collaboration between water users, environmentalists, conservationists, ranchers, farmers and city dwellers,” said Travis Smith, basin director for the Colorado Water Conservation Board. “Ms. de la Vista has a gift of listening, learning, and then implementing the possibilities through the Rio Grande Headwater Land Trust and their many partners.”

Ms. de la Vista works on a variety of projects for multiple organizations. Her contributions to the Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust (RiGHT) as the co-coordinator of the Rio Grande Initiative, have resulted in the protection of more than 19,000 acres and 33 miles of the Rio Grande, including ranchland, wildlife habitat, and senior surface water rights.

“Rio uses her close personal relationships and trustworthy reputation to educate landowners up and down the river about conservation options,” said Nancy Butler, executive director of the RiGHT. “Landowners, whom I never thought would give us the time of day, signed up for the program, and subsequently have turned into some of our greatest conservation champions.”

With Ms. de la Vista’s help, the Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust has completed every project it has initiated. She is affectionately referred to as their “chief visionary officer.” The Rio Grande Initiative is one of the most successful conservation projects in Colorado. It has more than doubled the pace of conservation along the Rio Grande from 6,000 acres protected from 1986-2006 to an additional 13,000 acres protected since 2007.

Ms. de la Vista has also brought together numerous partners for the Rock Creek Heritage Project, permanently protecting 8,000 acres of private land with nearly half of those lands buffering the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge. She has been instrumental also in securing millions of dollars funding for further wetland protection, including a groundbreaking $1.5 million grant from the Colorado Water Conservation Board.

The Rio Grande River and its wetlands offer significant wildlife habitat and essential groundwater recharge to the San Luis Valley’s rapidly dwindling aquifer. There are approximately 200,000 acres of nationally and internationally important wetlands in the San Luis Valley under private and public ownership and management. For more than a decade Ms. de la Vista has been their voice, as she is known for saying, “We need to keep the ‘wet’ in wetlands.”

The National Wetlands Awards program is administered by the Environmental Law Institute and supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA Forest Service, and Federal Highway Administration. A committee of wetland experts representing federal and state agencies, academia, conservation organizations, and the private sector selects the Award recipients.

For more information on the National Wetlands Awards, visit www.nationalwetlandsawards.org or contact Landon Yoder at (202) 939-3829 or e-mail wetlandsawards@eli.org. You may also write to the National Wetlands Awards Program, Environmental Law Institute, 2000 L Street, NW, Suite 620, Washington, DC 20036.