Heron Lake V: What to Do or See

V. Things to Do and See at Heron

Area Activities, Points of Interest


CHAMA VALLEY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
PO Box 306-RB, Chama, New Mexico 87520
Call (800) 477-0149 or (505) 756-2306 Fax (505) 756-2892
Heron Lake State Park Trails: East Meadow, Salmon Run, Rio Grande/El Vado

Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, 500 Terrace Ave, Chama, NM 87520. 888 286-2737, 756-2151, www.cumbrestoltec.com

The C&TSRR is the real deal, a historic railroad that bill's itself as America's highest and longest as it winds more than 60 miles between Chama and Antonito. The Cumbres and Toltec, along with the Durango and Silverton, are the surviving links of the Denver and Rio Grance railroad that penetrated the Rockies in search of mineral wealth at the close of the 19th century. Rides are available in combination with one-way bus service before or after the rail journey and pretty much take up an entire day. Fares include a good lunch in remote Osier, Colorado.

Brazos Cliffs. From NM 95, you can drive east into the Brazos canyon on NM 512 to enjoy a closer look and perhaps lunch or dinner at the Cliff View Restaurant. Although the cliffs are on private land, you can get a good look. The cliffs are especially dramatic in springtime after a wet winter, when El Churro is a waterfall that adds to their beauty for a few weeks. NM 64 east of Tierra Amarilla (about 15 miles) also provides a good view and is a scenic mountain drive in its own right.

Horse Treks are provided throughout the area.

Jicarilla Apache Nation, Jicarilla Culture Center, PO Box 1367, Dulce, NM 87528, 505 759-1343, www.jicarilla.net, jacc@jicarilla.net Dulce is the capital and site of the Little Beaver Roundup. A motel, casino, and excellent hardware store also divert visitors.

Pagosa Springs has a lot going for it, including hot springs, golf, Wolf Creek Ski area, a scenic waterfall, mountain biking, horse treks, fly fishing, and more. It has a good variety of visitor services and is also only about 40 miles from sailing action at Navajo Lake and 65 miles from Heron Lake sailing.

Durango (Durango Silverton scenic railway)

River rafting takes place on the Rio Chama below El Vado Lake, and on the Rio Grande near Taos. Trips on the Rio Chama are overnight trips. Rio Grande trips can include relatively tame 1/2 day trips on the Pilar Race Course or more exciting class IV action in the Taos Gorge during the peak of the season.

Taos (museums, galleries, ski area, Rio Grande Gorge, Gorge Bridge) . Taos is worth a guidebook onto itself.

Espanola is much more than the home of local low-rider culture or the original site of European government in New Mexico. It also offers all sorts of useful services, including the nearest Lowe's Lumberyard, Wal-Mart Supercenter, and more. Also of interest are a number of authentic northern New Mexico restaurants, including Jo Ann's Rancho Casodos, Angelina's, La Cocina, El Paragua, Matilda's, and Anthony's at the Delta.

Los Alamos, is known as the "atomic city", but you can come away from a visit without glowing in the dark. The local historical museum is housed in Fuller Lodge, a log building that once headquartered the Los Alamos Ranch School. Nearby is the science museum.

The Jemez Mountains offer camping get aways alone with occasional hot springs for skinny dipping.

Ojo Caliente, Hot Springs, 800 222-9162, www.ojocalientespa.com, 50 Los Baňos Dr, PO Box 68, Ojo Caliente, NM 87549. Communcal and private mineral baths, massage, facials, restaurant, gift shop, hiking, archeology, US 64 between Tierra Amarilla and Taos, then south on US 285.

Abiquiu (Fiesta of Santa Rosa de Lima, August 30).

Ghost Ranch, US 84, 404 685-4333, www.ghostranch.org Bed & Breakfast, camping, museums of anthropology and paleontology, Piedra Lumbre Education and Visitor Center, hiking trails, trading post, library, conference center, spiritual guides.

Flora, Fauna, and Natural History

Heron Lake is located in Rio Arriba County, in the north central mountains of New Mexico just east of the Continental Divide. Ponderosa pine forests grade into woodlands, shrub land, and grasslands, while riparian/wetland plant communities are found in the arroyos and along the shoreline.

The existing vegetation in the park consists of coniferous and deciduous trees. Coniferous trees include pure ponderosa pine stands and mixtures of ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, white fir and blue spruce. Deciduous trees common to upland areas at HEVLSP include Gambels oak, aspen and Rocky Mountain maple.

Grasses, and other plans grow under the tree canopy, in open meadows, and along the Chama River. These plants stabilize soil, limit erosion and provide important forage and cover for a variety of wildlife. Common grasses include mountain brome, blue grama, and Indian rice grass. A variety of forbs such a western yarrow, wild strawberry and Indian paintbrush live in the park. (State Park Management Plan)

Here fishie fishie

The current state record for lake trout has come out of Heron Lake. The lake is stocked with rainbow trout and kokanee salmon. German brown trout also inhabit the lake but are not stocked. These fish naturally reproduce within the lake and the surrounding streams. Waterfowl hunting on the northwest side of the lake is the only type of hunting allowed within the park.

Critters

Important mammals found in the area include ungulates such as elk and mule deer. Important predators include bobcat and mountain lion. Black bear is an important omnivore. Important aquatic mammals include muskrat and beaver. Small terrestrial mammals include tassel-eared squirrel and golden-mantled ground squirrel. Bats also are common because the majority of the park is characterized by coniferous forest with a relatively open canopy and sparse understory, with abundant insects.

The park’s water resources provide for a large variety of birds, both resident and migrant, which provide an important attraction for birders. Prominent water birds include American white pelican, mallard, wood duck, American coot and great blue heron. Important forest-dwelling birds include Clark’s nutcracker, turkey, black-headed grosbeak, Steller’s jay, juncos and broad-tailed hummingbirds. Raptors commonly seen at the park include bald eagle, Cooper’s hawk and osprey.

The only known threatened species that frequents the areais the bald eagle. Other threatened or endangered species listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service they may (or may not) reside at the park is the black-footed ferret and the meadow jumping mouse.. Although the osprey is not protected by state or federal law, its declining numbers have raised concerns among conservationists. The park helps to offset declines elsewhere by maintaining three osprey nest boxes. In 2001, three breeding pairs each fledged young. Since then, the population has increased.

Osprey Fest

Originally rare in New Mexico, Ospreys (fish hawks) have become a common site at Heron Lake. In 2006, the first Osprey Festival was held to celebrate their successful colonization of the area. The festival is now an annual event and draws hundreds of bird watchers to the area.

Oh dear, when the turkey came a knockin’

Then there was the Christmas day dinner when we heard a knock on our cabin door… and it was a wild turkey! And then there were the times when the turkeys and deer would hassle each other in the area right below our deck.

Rocks and Dirt

El Vado and Heron Lakes are on the western edge of the Chama Basin, a small, north south structural trough that is bounded by the Archuleta uplift to the west and the Brazos uplift to the east. To the south lie the San Pedro uplift, Jemez Bench and Valles Caldera. The Chama Basin connects to the southeast with the Rio Grande trough. Most of the rocks within the Chama Basin are sedimentary – primarily sandstones and shales. Crustal adjustments that created the uplifts and troughs also tilted and folded the once-horizontal sedimentary rocks, leaving them vulnerable to erosion onto hogbacks and mesas.

Amateur geologists might note sandstone and shale deposits along the lake shores; these are dated from the late Cretaceous era from when the area was a coastal plain along what was once the “Western Interior Seaway”. One could say that the New Mexico Sailing Club started out as an oceanfront property... if one is willing to go back about 99 million years! Also visible nearby are outcrops of the Burro Canyon formation (Cretaceous era, sandstone, quartz and chert pebble conglomerates, and mudstones) and Dakota formation (sandstone) downstream of Heron dam. Also downstream of the dam is Jurassic Morrison formation rock. The dam is built upon the northeast side of the “North El Vado Dome”, which is 1.5 miles in diameter. (See http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/tour/state/heron_lake/home.html for further details.)

Local History and Background

This area became the traditional homeland for a variety of other Native American groups, including the Jicarilla Apache, Ute, and Navajo. Between 1300-1500 A.D. it was used intermittently by the Ute and Navajo. Tewa Pueblos lay ancestral claim to this area, supported by archival and oral research. By the 1700s and 1800s, this became the northwest boundary of the Jicarilla Apache traditional use area. Jicarilla Apache lands border HEVLSP today. Several archaeological sites within the park have been identified as Jicarilla Apache.

The area was used marginally throughout the early Hispanic occupation, between the 1500s and 1800s. Hispanic sheepherders and settlers began to move in by the early 19^th century. The Tierra Amarilla Land Grant was made in April 1832, the lands to be used for cultivation and pasturage, potentially supporting up to 500 families. The land grant has survived and still exists today.

In the late 1800s, the Chama Valley corridor was an area rich in vast stands of harvestable ponderosa pine. Timber was a plentiful resource, and companies soon moved in, building railroad spurs into the surrounding mountains. In 1880, the railroad through the Chama Valley was developed for the narrow gauge Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Company. In 1903, a railroad spur was completed ending in El Vado, located at present-day El Vado Lake. A series of large sawmills sprang forth and between 1904-1908 and 1914-1923. The town of El Vado was a bustling community with up to 882 occupants at its peak, making it Rio Arriba County's largest town.

In 1923, El Vado was abandoned and soon after, the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District chose the site for El Vado Dam. The lake subsequently submerged the town of El Vado, which is now an underwater archaeological site. Some features remain on the shore relating to early El Vado history.

El Vado reservoir was constructed between 1933 and 1935 as part of federal unemployment relief efforts. Although initially built for irrigation purposes, by 1947 recreational use of the reservoir came to the forefront. In 1954, the BOR rehabilitated El Vado Dam and took over its operation in 1956. Since 1956, State Parks has leased the property.

El Vado Dam is a rare example of the extensive use of steel in earth fill dam construction. It is listed on the State Register of Cultural Properties and has been determined eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The concept for Heron Dam was conceived in 1933. The San Juan-Chama Project, created to supplement water on the Rio Grande, which included Heron Dam, was begun in 1964 and was completed with the construction of the dam in 1971. This is one of the top civil engineering projects in the United States. (State Park Management Plan)

Saving the Train

Originally built to reach the silver fields of southwestern Colorado in the late 19th century, the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad became economically obsolete in the 1960s after a brief revival during development of oil fields in the 1950s and 1960s. The railroad petitioned to abandon its route in 1970, distressing rail fans and local residents. Efforts by them and local leaders resulted in two segments of the old railroad being preserved, with the train re-starting as a historic railroad in 1973.

The surviving Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad advertises itself as the highest and longest steam-powered railway in the country. It travels daily in summer between Chama, NM, and Antonito, CO, traversing the 10,015-foot summit of Cumbres Pass and passing over trestle bridges and through tunnels and gorges. The railroad has been featured in many movies, including the opening scenes of an Indiana Jones movie.

Courthouse Raid

Reijes Tijerina was one of many activists who protested the history of land grants and grabs. These protests culminated in the famous or infamous 1967 Rio Arriba County Courthouse Raid, which resulted in bullet holes splashing the courthouse and a call for National Guard troops to enforce order.

Drought

The lake suffered a significant drought in 2003-2005, drying out the cove where the marina is located and reducing the lake to about a third of its capacity. Since then, better winter snowpacks have allowed the lake to recover to where the marina is now in 29 feet of water.