to preserve the significant open lands and diminishing natural heritage of Colorado through private and public partnerships, innovative land conservation techniques and strategic leadership.
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Keep up to date with what is going on at Colorado Open Lands!
We just accepted the transfer of the East Fork Ranch I conservation easement from the Southwest Land Alliance. Colorado Open Lands now holds three contiguous conservation easements totaling 2,770 acres that protect nearly all of the private land along the East Fork of the San Juan River near the boundary of the South San Juan Wilderness in Mineral County. This will significantly aid in forever protecting riparian habitat that wildlife rely upon, enhance and buffer adjacent San Juan National Forest land, and ensure the scenic beauty of the area if forever available to travelers along East Fork Road.
Colorado Open Lands is pleased to announce the closing of a 460-acre conservation easement in the Razor Creek Valley of Gunnison and Saguache Counties. This working ranch, which includes 322 acres of irrigated meadows, sits upon half a mile of Razor Creek. It provides important riparian habitat as well as critical brood-rearing and nesting habitat for the imperiled Gunnison Sage Grouse. The ranch provides scenic views for travelers on nearby county roads and adjacent public lands, and creates a block of almost 3,000 acres of conserved land in the Razor Creek Valley. Significant water rights were tied to the easement, which ensures that the conservation values supported by irrigation will remain intact. A true steward of the land, the landowner used his funding from this project to purchase the abutting 680-acre ranch, which is also protected. The partnership that made this bargain sale easement possible was facilitated by the Gunnison Ranchland Conservation Legacy, and was funded by Great Outdoors Colorado, the Gunnison Valley Land Preservation Fund, and the Gunnison Sage Grouse Mitigation Fund.
Congrats to The Hanna and
Frost families
honored at this year's SCC
Award
ceremony!!
We are delighted to have received the
GuideStarExchange Seal!
The seal recognizes
non-profits that follow best practices in
non-profit discloure and accountability.
Please take a minute to view our
detailed informative profile.
DM Ranch owner, John Buyer, talks about what
conservation means to him, his family, and his family's legacy. DM Ranch has been protected with a conservation easement from Colorado Open Lands since 2002 and possesses agricultural, riparian, ecological, open space, scenic, and wildlife values. Click on the video to the right to view here or click on this link to view it on YouTube.