The Upper Rio Grande Wildlife Initiative cordially invites you to attend the 3rd annual Upper Rio Grande Wildlife Corridors Summit in Taos, New Mexico on August 20, 2019. The initiative seeks to support scientific research, encourage public engagement and inform public policies and planning to protect and enhance wildlife corridors throughout the Upper Rio Grande. It will do so by fostering collaboration among tribal leaders, federal and state agencies, hunters and anglers, conservation groups, traditional land users, private landowners, and community leaders.

Spanning from the San Luis Valley in Colorado south to the Sandia Pueblo in New Mexico, the Upper Rio Grande is home to iconic western species like Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, elk, mule deer, lynx and Rio Grande cutthroat trout. It is considered one of the best connected wildlife migration corridors in the country. Unfortunately, development, roads, fences, and climate change now threaten to fragment this landscape.

This year, we are fortunate to have participation from top national and state policy leaders including:

• Assistant House Speaker and U.S. Congressman Ben Ray Lujan

• U.S. House of Representative, Congresswoman Deb Haaland

• New Mexico Public Lands Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard

• Colorado State Representative Donald Valdez, who represents the San Luis valley

• Colorado Department of Natural Resources Deputy Director Tim Mauck

• And other Colorado and New Mexico state and congressional leaders

The 2019 Upper Rio Grande Wildlife Corridor Summit will also include:

-- Panels of tribal leaders, traditional land users, state and federal policymakers and private landowners.

--Updates from federal and state agencies including planners at the Carson, Santa Fe, and Rio Grande National Forests, the BLM, state game agencies and transportation departments.

--State and federal policy discussions

--Presentations on the latest migration corridor science

RSVP: There is no charge to attend the event, simply RSVP using the form before August 9, 2019. Coffee and lunch will be provided free of charge. If you have questions, please email Jeremy Romero, Regional Connectivity Coordinator for the National Wildlife Federation: romeroj@nwf.org

Organizational Sponsorship: If your organization would like to show your support for wildlife corridors, help the organizers offset the summit costs and continue this ongoing work, please consider one of the following levels of sponsorship. Contact Meg Morris, Digital Campaigns Manager for the National Wildlife Federation: morrisma@nwf.org

• $250 Lynx: A $250 sponsorship is a perfect way to support the work to protect and conserve wildlife corridors in New Mexico and Colorado. Your $250 sponsorship will include the opportunity to share materials on the community resources table as well as be recognized during the program.

• $500: Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout: Jump right in the water with a $500 sponsorship that will include your logo featured on the summit program and shared on sponsorship slides running during breaks and meals at the summit. Your organization can also share materials on the community resource table.

• $1,000: Bull Elk: With a $1,000 sponsorship your logo will be featured on the summit website and on promotional materials in advance of the summit. It will also be on the program and on sponsorship slides running during breaks and meals at the summit. Your organization can also share materials on the community resource table. Additionally, your sponsorship will include an invite for two to the pre-summit networking dinner the evening before.

Hotel Rooms--- There is a block of rooms set aside at the rate of $99 a night for those interested in staying at the Summit’s location at the Sagebrush Inn and Suites. To book at this rate, please reserve your room by July 19, 2019 by calling the Sagebrush Inn and Suites at (575)-758-2254 and mention the Wildlife Corridor Summit.