The Valle Vidal (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, "Valley of Life") is a mountain basin in the

Sangre de Cristo Mountains The Sangre de Cristo Mountains (Spanish language, Spanish for "Blood of Christ") are the southernmost mountain range, subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States. The mountai ...

within the

Carson National Forest Carson National Forest is a United States National Forest, national forest in northern New Mexico, United States. It encompasses 6,070 square kilometers (1.5 million acres) and is administered by the United States Forest Service. The Forest Serv ...

, northwest of

Cimarron, New Mexico Cimarron is a Village (United States), village in Colfax County, New Mexico, Colfax County, New Mexico, United States, which sits on the eastern slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The population was 792 at the 2020 United States census, 20 ...

. Elevations in the basin range from . Valle Vidal is noted for its pristine scenery and wildlife. It was protected from oil and gas exploitation by an act of Congress in 2006. The Valle Vidal borders on

Vermejo Park Ranch Vermejo Park Ranch, Vermejo Ranch, or Vermejo, is a nature reserve and guest operation in northeastern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Ted Turner Reserves, the luxury hospitality company founded by Ted Turner, includes conservation research a ...

Philmont Scout Ranch Philmont Scout Ranch is a ranch located in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States, near the village of Cimarron. Donated by oil baron Waite Phillips, the ranch is owned by Scouting America. It is a high adventure base where crews of Scouts ...

, and other private lands.

History

Valle Vidal was part of the

Maxwell Land Grant The Maxwell Land Grant, also known as the Beaubien-Miranda Land Grant, was a Land grants in New Mexico and Colorado, Mexican land grant in Colfax County, New Mexico, and part of adjoining Las Animas County, Colorado. This 1841 land grant wa ...

until purchased by William Bartlett in 1902. Part of the Vermejo Park Ranch, Valle Vidal became a hunting and fishing preserve for wealthy people and celebrities. In 1973, the Vermejo Park Ranch was sold to the Vermejo Park Corporation, a subsidiary of the

Pennzoil Pennzoil is an American motor oil brand currently owned by Shell plc. The former Pennzoil Company had been established in 1913 in Pennsylvania, being active in business as an independent firm until it was acquired by Shell in 2002, becoming a bra ...

company. In 1982, Pennzoil donated the Valle Vidal portion of the ranch to the American public and it became part of the Carson National Forest. In 2002 the

El Paso Corporation El Paso Corporation was a provider of natural gas and related energy products and was one of North America's largest natural gas producers until its acquisition by Kinder Morgan in 2012. It was headquartered in Houston, Texas, United States. Prio ...

petitioned the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...

for the lease of in the eastern part of Valle Vidal to develop

coalbed methane ''Coalbed methane'' (CBM or coal-bed methane), coalbed gas, or coal seam gas (CSG) is a form of natural gas extracted from coal beds. In recent decades it has become an important source of energy in United States, Canada, Australia, and other co ...

resources, and for extension of the company's coalbed methane production on the Vermejo Park Ranch. The Forest Service declined to reject El Paso's petition despite widespread public opposition to the project. The Coalition for the Valle Vidal was created to oppose mineral leasing and in 2006 the U.S. Congress adopted legislation to prohibit mineral development in the Valle Vidal.

Description

At the heart of Valle Vidal are extensive rolling grass-covered meadows at an elevation of about . The meadows are surrounded by

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

and

quaking aspen ''Populus tremuloides'' is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, one of several species referred to by the common name aspen. It is commonly called quaking aspen,

forests. The land generally increases in elevation from east to west, culminating in Little Costilla Mountain which rises above timberline. The headwaters of Ponil Creek and Comanche Creek, are in Valle Vidal. Valle Vidal hosts a herd of about 2,500 elk and other species such

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the wildcat, bay lynx, or red lynx, is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus '' Lynx''. Native to North America, it ranges from southern Canada through most of the c ...

, and

bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...

. The bison wander into the valley from Vermejo Park Ranch which has a large free-ranging herd. Comanche Creek, a tributary of

Costilla Creek Costilla Creek is a tributary of the Rio Grande in Colorado and New Mexico. Course The creek rises in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in far southern Colorado at the confluence of East Fork Costilla Creek and West Fork Costilla Creek. It then flo ...

and ultimately the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

, has a population of rare

Rio Grande cutthroat trout The Rio Grande cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus virginalis virginalis''), a member of the family Salmonidae, is found in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado in tributaries of the Rio Grande. It is one of 9 subspecies of the Rocky Mountain ...

Recreation

The primary use of Valle Vidal is recreation, hosting outfitters, hunting and trekking guides, backpackers, horseback riders, and fly-fishermen. It contributes $3–5 million every year to local economies supporting dozens of jobs and local industries. New Mexico road 1950 traverses Valle Vidal from east to west. Cimarron campground has been selected by the Great Outdoor Recreation Pages (GORP) as one of the 10 best campgrounds in the United States. Nearby Shuree ponds offer trout fishing opportunities to children under 12 years of age. Eight miles east of Cimarron is McCrystal Campground. Located in a

ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine, is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is t ...

forest at the lower elevations of Valle Vidal are several abandoned homesites. Philmont Scout Ranch operates three temporary staffed camps in Valle Vidal. Three thousand

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts or Boy Scout may refer to: * Members, sections or organisations in the Scouting Movement ** Scout (Scouting), a boy or a girl participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouting America, formerly known as Boy Scouts of America ...

backpack in Valle Vidal each summer. Valle's Vidal's waters were designated as Outstanding National Resource Waters in December 2005 and McCrystal Creek and North Ponil Creek are eligible for designation as Wild and Scenic Rivers. Most fishing in Valle Vidal is catch and release. Trout in the streams are small but abundant. Elk hunting permits are issued by lottery. To protect wildlife populations the east side of the Valle Vidal is closed from January 1 to March 31 and the west side is closed from May 1 to June 30. When there is a closure on either side of the unit, you may drive through the whole unit. You cannot get out and hike on the side where the closure is in effect.

References

External links

Carson National Forest: Valle Vidal

Valle Vidal
at Fourcornersgeotourism.com {{coord, 36, 45, 21, N, 105, 16, 12, W, type:landmark_scale:50000_region:US-NM, display=title Sangre de Cristo Mountains Carson National Forest Protected areas of Colfax County, New Mexico Protected areas of Taos County, New Mexico Philmont Scout Ranch