Submitted by Josh Duplechian on Mon, 2013-04-15 08:19 Conservation West of The Rockies Backcountry Rio Grande del Norte Vote Up Down -21 + rio_grande_panorama_web.jpg TAOS — The dreamcatcher is a prominent theme around Taos and northern New Mexico, whether as the name of a quaint bed and breakfast in the heart of the Enchanted Circle or the actual Native American charms said to separate good dreams from bad. Among fishermen along the nearby Rio Grande, the words "dream catch" can take on an entirely different meaning altogether. And as far as the local visionaries are concerned, they just landed the big one. President Barack Obama's March 25 proclamation of the 242,555-acre Rio Grande del Norte National Monument fulfilled a decades-long goal for conservation-minded outdoorsmen who have fought for preservation of this iconic Western landscape and the diverse wildlife that inhabit it. Included among the monument boundaries are some 60 miles of Rio Grande trout water that tumbles between 800-foot canyon walls from the Colorado border downstream to the town of Pilar, N.M. Within that picturesque canyon lie countless dreams waiting to be fulfilled. To read the rest of the article head over to the Denver Post site.