Southern Ute Indian Tribe

Ambient Monitoring

The goal of the Air Quality Division (AQD) is to protect the health of Tribal Members and residents on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. AQD maintains three State and Local Air Monitoring Stations (SLAMS) to meet this need for the Reservation while also adhering to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SLAMS quality assurance guidelines. The Ute 1 SLAMS is located just north of Ignacio, Colorado, the Ute 3 SLAMS is located off of Colorado State Highway 550 north of Bondad, Colorado and the Lake Capote SLAMS is located at the north end of Lake Capote and south of Colorado State Highway 160, near Chimney Rock National Monument.

To further enhance Tribal Member and resident access to real time information on air quality conditions within the Reservation, ambient air monitoring data collected from these stations are reported to the EPA Air Quality System for National Ambient Air Quality Standard comparison and EPA’s AirNow website. This website establishes air quality forecasts using ambient air monitoring data index values and color rating system to help people understand when air quality can be harmful to their health.

Air Quality Health Notifications

The Tribe’s two air monitoring stations continuously monitor and report:

  • Oxides of Nitrogen (NO/NO2/NOx)
  • Ozone (O3)
  • Carbon Monoxide (CO)
  • Particulate Matter (PM)
  • Wind Speed
  • Wind Direction
  • Outdoor Temperature
  • Relative Humidity
  • Solar Radiation
  • Precipitation
  • Visibility

To view ambient air quality forecasts for  the Southern Ute Indian Reservation visit the AirNow Website.

Documents

Ambient Monitoring Staff

Reyes Shendo, Air Quality Specialist
970-563-2296

Andrew Switzer, Air Quality Program Manager – Monitoring & Planning
970-563-2214