Editing San Luis Valley (section)

===Land ownership and management===
[[File:Sanluisvalleyconservationarea.jpg|thumb|upright 1.2|Map of the proposed [[San Luis Valley Conservation Area]] showing federal, state, and protected land use]]

About 50% of the {{convert|2000000|acre}} in the San Luis Valley is privately owned. Much of the land in the south part of the Valley, in Conejos and Costilla counties, was originally part of large Mexican land grants and is private land.

{{convert|500000|acre}} on the borders of the valley (generally adjacent to National Forest Lands) are managed by the [[Bureau of Land Management]], BLM, a division of the [[United States Department of the Interior]]. This land is usually leased to neighboring ranches for grazing for a nominal fee. Part of the value of a [[Ranching|ranch]] is its continuing lease of BLM or National Forest lands.

Public lands in the mountains surrounding the San Luis Valley are generally part of the Rio Grande [[United States National Forest|National Forest]] and are managed by the [[United States Forest Service]].

Large areas of private lands have either been subdivided into small "ranch" lots or have been sold or donated to the Federal government and make up portions of the [[Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve]], other wildlife preserves, and various state wildlife sites.