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
2009 Press Releases
Brenda Biondo, a Colorado writer and photographer, is auctioning one of her fine art prints, Sego Lily, on eBay to support Colorado Open Lands' work.
To honor Earth Day on April 22, Colorado photographer Brenda Biondo is auctioning one of her botanical images of native plants to benefit Colorado Open Lands! The seven-day eBay auction starts April 16 and ends on Earth Day, with 100% of the selling price donated to the land trust. You can also see her work at an exhibit at the Whole Foods upstairs cafe at 870 S. Colorado Blvd, beginning March 26th.
2008 Press Releases
Colorado Open Lands is proud to announce that we are one of the 1st land trusts in the nation to be accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission! We are one of 38 land trusts across the country that was selected to pilot the new program in 2007. Land trusts that were selected to participate represent a diversity of land trust sizes, geographic locations, and types of land protected.
Read More! See related article here.
Brenda Biondo, writer and photographer, has generously offered to donate 20% of any sales from her store or website to Colorado Open Lands during September and October! Her botanical scanographs (digital photographs made on a flatbed scanner) will be on sale from her website (www.foundflora.com) and at Lulu's Furniture and Decor Store (2553 South Colorado Boulevard 106, Denver, CO 80222) . Please see related Denver Post article here.
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…
Related News Articles
2009 News Articles
Peak to Prairie in the News:
- If Colorado’s mountains are like the heart and lungs of the state, its streamside environments are the veins and arteries. Click here for Pueblo Chieftain article.
- Everyone, it seems, has wanted a piece of the Hanna Ranch. Click here for Colorado Springs Gazette article.
- Fountain Creek needs millions - Pueblo Chieftain article.
Congress approves landmark conservation bill - this includes the South Park National Heritage Area.
The Democratic-led U.S. Congress gave final approval on Wednesday to sweeping land and water conservation legislation that environmental groups praised as one of the most significant in U.S. history. The measure, a package of more than 160 bills, would set aside about 2 million acres -- parks, rivers, streams, desert, forest and trails -- in nine states as new wilderness and render them off limits to oil and gas drilling and other development.
Salazar Names Land Conservation Leader Will Shafroth Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has named Will Shafroth, a land conservationist executive and founding director of the Colorado Conservation Trust and Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund, as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The appointment does not require Senate confirmation.
Good things are happening on Fountain Creek - in our Peak to Prairie Area . A recent Peublo Chieftain article highlights the accomplishments.
2008 News Articles
Worth Protecting: Ranchers say conservation easements don’t deserve a black eye. The Pueblo Chieftain interviews the owners of 3R Ranch.
Given the care they have taken with their land for the last quarter century, it seems odd that Reeves and Betsy Brown, owners of the 3R ranch at Beulah, have no grand plan for saving water in the Arkansas Valley. Instead, it’s just a gut instinct that made them decide to speak out on the value of conservation easements at a time when many others are running for cover. Read More....
Colorado Conservation Partnership Awards $2 Million in Grants To Accelerate Wildlife Habitat Conservation in Colorado
The Colorado Conservation Partnership (CCP) today announced that it has awarded grants to five Colorado land trust organizations whose land conservation projects advance the goals and objectives of the Colorado State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP). The five grants total $2 million and are part of the funding CCP received from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to help implement the on-the-ground wildlife conservation projects that Colorado and four other western states identified as priorities in their plans. Read More....
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
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
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
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
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