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Pagosa Wetland Partners Meeting
August 18, 2020 @ 9:00 am - 11:00 am
Please join us at Yamaguchi park to discuss our efforts to protect area wetlands. Bring a chair and water. We will meet, socially distanced, outside at the gazebo near the river. If you are interested in touring the vacant land known as Yamaguchi south, slated for development by the town, bring binoculars and we will look for birds after the meeting.
“We are volunteers with a citizen-led advocacy group we named the Pagosa Wetland Partners. We are associated with the National Audubon local chapter Weminuche Audubon in Archuleta County.
We formed as a group a year ago in response to public presentations on a potential residential development along the San Juan River in downtown Pagosa Springs within the 15 remaining acres of The Springs Resort. This property is directly adjacent to a riparian wetland ecosystem with unique native plants and flowing water habitat that is utilized by 155 bird species (last count 2019) and companion animal communities. This wetland has a highly unusual feature of warm spring water inflow creating marsh and ponds that stay open all winter. It is an important refuge for migrating and overwintering birds. This entire system is within and connected to the Upper San Juan River and its riparian corridor.
As mentioned, our advocacy for the protection of the wetlands is in response to the potential for high density residential development bordering this wetland. Our intent is not to be confrontational, but rather to assist the community by utilizing the best available science to produce the best possible outcomes. Land use development codes are not always sufficient to prevent problems. We feel it is important to address potential impacts to the wetlands as well as to the complex hydrology of this section of the San Juan River. After observations by a retired hydrologist in our group, questions about the quantity, quality, and timing of spring water outflows led us to be concerned about impacts. This unique riparian zone is also highly valued by the community for recreation, education, ecotourism, birding, and the central role it plays in the quality of life enjoyed by citizens and visitors alike. We are also aware that when it comes to avoiding, or mitigating, environmental impacts from inappropriate land uses, an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of remediation.”