Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge
The Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area in New Mexico managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System. It is located 7 miles (11 km) south of Albuquerque, New Mexico. This unit abuts the Rio Grande Valley State Park, which is adjacent to the Rio Grande.
| Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge | |
|---|---|
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
 | |
  | |
| Location | Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States |
| Nearest city | Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Coordinates | 34.97°N 106.67°W |
| Area | 570 acres (230 ha) |
| Established | 2012 |
| Governing body | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |
| Website | Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge |
Hours
Property hours 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM Monday through Sunday. Breezeway single stall bathroom is open to public use from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM Monday through Sunday. Visitor center remains closed for health and safety reasons. Please use the new driveway to enter the refuge and park in the new parking lot.
History
The land that is presently Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge was operated for decades as a dairy farm.[1] After the closure of this facility, this area was dominated by alfalfa and fescue fields, it became seen as a potential development site for suburban homes until its purchase by the Trust for Public Land was negotiated. In 2011, the site was earmarked for federal improvements, and in 2012 it was transferred to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.[2]
A working farm remains at Valle de Oro NWR, with the on-premises agricultural setting transitioning into native Middle Rio Grande Valley habitats for resident and migratory wildlife. Federal administrators plan to extend the bosque (riparian forest of the Rio Grande) onto the refuge.[3] In 2015, the refuge's land acquisition was finalized, bringing the size of the National Wildlife Refuge to 570.03 acres (230.68 ha).[4]
Valle de Oro NWR is designated as an Urban National Wildlife Refuge, due to its proximity to Albuquerque. It is the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's first Urban NWR in its Southwest region to be built from the ground up under the new Urban Wildlife Conservation Program's Standards of Excellence.[4]
References
- Price's Dairy Farm was founded in 1906 by Mark Elmer Price (1862-1908) and his wife Mary Smith Price (1866-1937) at El Paso, Texas. After the death of her husband, Mary took over. By 1921 the Price's Dairy Company was formed and expanded into Texas and New Mexico. In 1932 Mary assisted her son Robert Bruce Price (1893-1967) and investors with the purchase of the plant and farm property in Albuquerque, New Mexico where they established the Valley Gold Dairies, Inc. The first company plant was located on Fourth Street in Albuquerque with farms located in Bernalillo and Albuquerque's South Valley. The Price's (or Valley Gold) farm property in South Albuquerque (570 acres) was purchased in sections, beginning in 2011, by the federal government to create an urban wildlife refuge. In 2012 it became the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge. (Source: Mary Smith Price, 1866-1937, Carl Hertzog; Price's Dairy Farms, El Paso, Texas, William Flato, 1938 and "New Mexico Business Journal," August 1, 1991).
- "Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge".
- "Downtown Neighborhoods Association".
- "Restoration, Activities, and Site Plan Environmental Assessment for Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge" (PDF). August 30, 2017.
