The Valle Vidal ( Spanish, "Valley of Life") is a mountain basin in the

Sangre de Cristo Mountains ) , country= United States , subdivision1_type= States , subdivision1= , parent= Rocky Mountains , geology= , orogeny= , area_mi2= 17193 , range_coordinates= , length_mi= 242 , length_orientation= north-south , width_mi= 120 , w ...

within the

Carson National Forest Carson National Forest is a 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 Service's "mixed use" policy allows ...

, 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 1,021 at the 2010 United States Census, 2 ...

. 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 ranch in northeastern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Ted Turner Reserves, the luxury hospitality company founded by Ted Turner, includes conservation research and e ...

Philmont Scout Ranch Philmont Scout Ranch is a ranch located in Colfax County, New Mexico, near the village of Cimarron; it covers of wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on the east side of the Cimarron Range of the Rocky Mountains. Donated by oil baro ...

, and other private lands.

History

Valle Vidal was part of the Maxwell Land Grant 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. Pr ...

petitioned the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

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

coalbed methane Coalbed methane (CBM or coal-bed methane), coalbed gas, coal seam gas (CSG), or coal-mine methane (CMM) 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, Au ...

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 single ...

and 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,

turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUC ...

, and

bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...

. 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 f ...

and ultimately the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

, has a population of rare

Rio Grande cutthroat trout The Rio Grande cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarki 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 14 subspecies of cutthroat trout native ...

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 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 may refer to: * Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement. * Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement. * An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are ...

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