Colorado Open Lands
Press Room
Colorado Open Lands is a 501(c)3, non-profit land trust, dedicated to protecting working farms and ranches and the diminishing natural heritage of Colorado for future generations. Colorado Open Lands works with willing landowners and communities through collaborative approaches to land conservation. By facilitating land preservation agreements with landowners, Colorado Open Lands helps keep land in private ownership while preserving traditional land uses such a family farming and ranching. Since its inception, Colorado Open Lands has preserved over 190,000 acres through 188 projects in 34 counties.
For more information about our work, click here.
Press Releases
Related News Articles
2008 Press Releases
Colorado Open Lands Protects nearly 14,ooo acres on Beatty Canyon in Southeast Colorado. Considered to be a' diamond in the rough', this property borders the Purgatoire River and includes spectacular scenery, habitat for big game species and the ruins of early Spanish settlements. Read More....
Leading Colorado Conservation Groups Unite for Long Range Plan to Achieve Greatest Conservation Impact in the initiative to "Keep it Colorado". Recognizing the need for a comprehensive vision to address the critical challenges Colorado faces as a state, five of Colorado’s leading conservation organizations - Colorado Conservation Trust, Colorado Open Lands, The Conservation Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and The Trust for Public Land- announced today an unprecedented collaboration and far-reaching conservation vision to preserve Colorado’s iconic landscapes for the decades to come. Read More....
Photographer John Fielder's latest work - "Ranches of Colorado", a new book aimed at illustrating the importance of Colorado's Conservation Easement Program for preserving Colorado's ranching heritage, will benefit the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts, Colorado Open Lands and the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust. Click here to read more .
Join the Colorado Conservation Partnership for an unprecedented event on April 23rd to KEEP IT COLORADO with special speaker John Fielder, nationally-renowned photographer. The Colorado Conservation Partnership includes Colorado Conservation Trust, Colorado Open Lands, The Conservation Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and Trust for Public Lands.
Colorado Open Lands is pleased to announce two new Board members, Rebecca Frank of Grand Junction and Scott McInnis of both Grand Junction and Denver. Additionally, James Lochhead with Brownstein, Hyatt & Farber and Board member for the past 10 years, has rotated off the Board. Read More...
2007 Press Releases
Public comments encouraged about Colorado Open lands as part of their application for accreditation with the Land Trust Accreditation Commission. Comments must relate to Colorado Open Lands' compliance with the national quality standards, known as Standards & Practices. These standards address the ethical and technical operations of a land trust. For the Standards & Practices as they apply to our application, available in an easily printable PDF, please read more here...
Community First Foundation will match on-line donations to Colorado Open Lands starting on October 3 – and available only for a limited time – with 50 cents on the dollar, up to $5,000. Read More...
Colorado Open Lands Selected for National Accreditation Pilot - Colorado Open Lands was recently selected as one of 23 land conservation organizations from 16 states to participate in a second round of testing of a new national accreditation program. The program will recognize land conservation organizations, also known as land trusts, that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. Read More...
Berthoud closes on historic land purchase - Colorado Open Lands announced today that 74 acres of farmland west of Berthoud are now permanently protected with a combination conservation easement and deed restriction. After the easement and deed restriction were donated to Colorado Open Lands, the Town of Berthoud purchased the land for future conversion into a community park. Read more...
2006 Press Releases
R Bar None Ranch Preserved - Colorado Open Lands announced today that 2,558 acres of the R Bar None Ranch in Routt County have been permanently protected with a conservation easement. Purchased from the Papoulas Family in 1990, John Ricks had tried for years to put the property under easement and things were progressing smoothly until his untimely death in 2004. Read more…
Colorado Open Lands Receives 4-Star Rating for 4th Consecutive Year - Colorado Open Lands has received a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator for the fourth year in a row. Charity Navigator provides in-depth, objective analysis of the financial health and performance of over 5,000 of America's largest charities, and is the country’s largest evaluator of charitable organizations. Charity Navigator’s 4-star rating is its highest rating and signifies that the organization receiving the rating has exceeded non-profit industry standards and outperformed most charities in its area of concentration. Read more…
Colorado Open Lands completes significant land conservation projects in Park County with help of GOCO/lottery funds - Colorado Open Lands, in partnership with Park County, has closed three important conservation easement transactions as part of the South Park Basin Legacy Project. Lottery funds from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) totaling $515,750 were used by Colorado Open Lands to help complete these projects. Read more…
2005 Press Releases
Fountain conservation effort gets boost: GOCO awards $427,000 to Peak to Prairie project - Pueblo Chieftain: GOCO granted the project $427,000 for a conservation easement on 800 acres of ranchland on Fountain Creek in El Paso County as part of $6 million in grants statewide and $2 million in Southern Colorado. The easement is expected to be a catalyst for further easements on the same property totaling 5,445 acres. Read more…
Colorado Open Lands Partners with Landowners to preserve two Park County Ranches - Colorado Open Lands announced today the protection of over 1,000 acres of private ranchlands in southern Park County. Since early 2005, Colorado Open Lands has partnered with two families, one a fourth generation descendent of original homesteaders, to craft conservation easements to prohibit future subdivision and to preserve the agricultural, scenic, and wildlife habitat values of the two properties. “The Bumgarner and Law families have invested a great deal of time and effort to ensure that their actions reflect their principles”. Read more…
2004 Press Releases
Conservation Agreement Protects the Land of the Forbes Trinchera Ranch - Forbes, Inc. and Colorado Open Lands announced today that Forbes Trinchera, Inc., a subsidiary of Forbes, Inc., has donated a conservation easement over the Forbes Trinchera Ranch, in Costilla County, Colorado. The gift is the largest conservation easement in Colorado history. The conservation easement, which confines any future development, will protect the vast 80,000 acre property in perpetuity. The spectacular Trinchera property comprises the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains between the towns of La Veta and Fort Garland, south of Highway 160. The Forbes Trinchera Ranch is the largest remaining undeveloped land parcel within the historic Sangre de Cristo land grant, which dates to 1843. Purchased by the late Malcolm Forbes in 1969 as a family retreat, the property has been managed since that time to maintain and enhance its ecological values. Read more…
Pueblo County Ranches Protected with Conservation Easements - Colorado Open Lands announced today that 2,100 acres of prime farmland and a portion of the St. Charles River corridor have been permanently protected through four conservation easements on the San Carlos and Pigg Ranches. This exciting ranch protection project was a result of a partnership between the landowners, Colorado Open Lands, Great Outdoors Colorado, the National Resources Conservation Service, and the Wet Mountain Open Space Coalition (WMOSC). The protection of these ranches makes a significant and exciting contribution towards permanently preserving the agricultural heritage of Pueblo County. Read more…
Agreement protects Wahl/Coleman Ranch - Colorado Open Lands announced today that JBS Family Enterprises has donated a 701-acre conservation easement over the Wahl/Coleman Ranch, including Baker Lake and a biologically rare portion of the property. JBS is a family partnership of Jeff Smith, owner of Classic Companies in Colorado Springs. The partnership purchased the Wahl/Coleman Ranch this summer. Mr. Smith has no immediate plans for the Ranch, although his family ultimately intends to build a home on the property. “We’re excited about the Ranch and becoming part of the South Park community. Being able to preserve this unique place is very important to us,” Smith said. Read more…
Colorado Open Lands Has a Record - Setting Land Conservation Year As Conservation Easement Tax Credits Motivate Landowners – In what has been a record year for land protection, Colorado Open Lands closed on 38 conservation easements in 2003, protecting more than 13,000 acres of prime farm and ranch land, wildlife habitat, viewsheds, and open space. The donated worth of these conservation easements, located in 12 different counties, exceeds $15 million. One of the motivating factors in this large increase in conservation easement donations is the Colorado Conservation Easement Income Tax Credit. Read more…
Park County Hart Ranch protected with conservation easement - Colorado Open Lands announced today that the 1,040-acre Hart Ranch south of Fairplay has been protected with a conservation easement. The easement was acquired below market value from the owners Don and Jane Hart, to permanently protect the ranch’s significant wildlife habitat and scenic values while maintaining the ranch’s agricultural production. The Ranch is located in South Park along U.S. Highway 285 and is adjacent to lands owned by the Colorado State Land Board and the Bureau of Land Management. Read more…
Related News Articles
2008 News Articles
Colorado Ranches Preserved on Film
By Margaret Jackson, The Denver Post
John Fielder is working on a new book aimed at illustrating the importance of Colorado's Conservation Easement Program for preserving Colorado's ranching heritage. A percentage of sales of his book, "Ranches of Colorado" will go to the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts, Colorado Open Lands and the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust. READ MORE.
Park County Recieves National County Leadership in Conservation Award.
By Gary E. Nichols, Park County Office of Tourism & Community Development
The National Association of Counties (NACo) and the Trust For Public Land (TPL) have selected Park County as the national winner in the small population category of the 4th Annual County Leadership in Conservation Award. While this year’s application pool included many accomplished programs, the selection committee was impressed with the high quality of Park County’s resource conservation program, in all respects. READ MORE.
2007 News Articles
GOVERNOR RITTER ANNOUNCES PRESERVATION OF 138,000 ACRES WITH $57 MILLION IN GOCO/LOTTERY GRANTS
By Chris Leding, Great Outdoors Colorado
Governor Bill Ritter today joined with members of the Lottery-funded Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) Trust Fund Board in announcing the investment of
$57 million in Legacy grants to 15 projects that will help preserve 138,000 acres across the state. Several of the projects receiving funds are based around river corridors including the South Platte River in Adams and Arapahoe counties, Fountain Creek in El Paso and Pueblo counties, the Rio Grande River in the San Luis Valley and in the Crystal and Upper San Juan watersheds in western Colorado. READ MORE
Great Outdoors Funds Fountain Crek Project
By Chris Woodka, The Pueblo Chieftain
A conservation initiative aimed at preserving land from Pikes Peak to Chico Basin, including a 28-mile stretch of Fountain Creek, received a major boost Monday from the Great Outdoors Colorado Board. The GOCo board awarded the Peak to Prairie project, sponsored by Colorado Open Lands, $4.75 million as part of its Legacy Projects program. READ MORE. See related article on GOCo's summary of all 2007 Grants.
Ranchers want to protect roots on creek
By Chris Woodka, The Pueblo Chieftain
A family cemetery dating back to 1864 was one focal point chosen by a landowner to illustrate the need for open space on Fountain Creek. “With every generation, the roots grow a little deeper,” rancher Jay Frost told members of the Great Outdoors Colorado board Monday. “We’ve got future generations coming and trying to keep the land whole and healthy.” The GOCO board will continue its tour today of sites that Colorado Open Lands hopes will become part of a Peak to Prairie Conservation Initiative. READ MORE
Colorado Open Lands Soars Because of Easement Values
Article by Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News
A growing push to protect Colorado landscapes from future development put two groups on higher ground in the Rocky's second annual ranking of the top 100 nonprofits in the state. At the top of the heap: Colorado Open Lands, which moved to 28th place, up from 56th last year. The group booked a 137 percent revenue gain partly because of a deal to preserve a huge ranch on the eastern side of the San Luis Valley. READ MORE
White Christmas Makes For Holiday Nightmare,
Article by Lynn Sherrod, Land Trust Alliance
The familiar strains of “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” produced few sentimental stirrings in much of the West over the holidays. Blizzards pummeled the region, dumping several feet of wind-driven snow before moving on. Hardest hit were eastern Colorado and western Kansas, both ill-equipped to deal with such extreme weather. READ MORE...