Baca National Wildlife Refuge is a 78,697-acre refuge in southern Colorado’s San Luis Valley, near Crestone, on lands tied to the historic Luis Maria Baca Grant No. 4. Authorized by Congress in 2000 and established in 2003 under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, it emerged from complex land transfers involving federal and state agencies, the Nature Conservancy, and the historic Baca Ranch. Its rangeland, wetlands, streams, and irrigated hay meadows support native fish and abundant birdlife, while limited grazing and haying continue. The refuge’s history also includes disputes over privately held mineral rights, underscoring tension between habitat protection and subsurface development.