Colorado Open Lands
A Legacy for South Park:
Since 1998 Colorado Open Lands has forged valuable partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies, non-profit land conservation groups, and private landowners to preserve South Park’s high quality natural resources sustained by the area’s strong ranching heritage. Globally rare plant communities, intact riparian corridors, grand scenic vistas, and the continued rhythms of seasonal wildlife migrations contribute to South Park’s distinction as a nationally significant resource area.
In 2003, Park County, Colorado Open Lands, and The Nature Conservancy embarked upon a monumental effort to preserve the highest priority agricultural lands, wetlands, stream corridors and sensitive wildlife habitat in the South Park Basin. Fueled by a $3,500,000 Legacy Initiative grant from Great Outdoors Colorado, and more than $1,500,000 in matching grants and contributions from various sources (see sidebar), this campaign signified the culmination of five years of conservation planning, fundraising, partner building, and implementation.
The recent conclusion of the South Park Basin Legacy Project represents a milestone for both Colorado Open Lands and our partners in the South Park Community Conservation Area. The three-year project preserved over 15,500 acres of private lands, and generated new public recreational and educational opportunities based upon South Park’s unique natural and cultural resources. This demonstration of successful conservation activity has in turn led to Congressional action to designate South Park a National Heritage Area.
Three Goals Led the Effort
The South Park Basin Legacy Project was conceived with three goals in mind:
- to preserve private lands possessing high quality agricultural, natural, and scenic resources;
- to provide capacity to aid in the public education and interpretation of these resources; and
- to provide expanded recreational access to private lands through cooperative management agreements. The project, which concluded in July 2006, has been a success on all fronts.
The project has been a success on all fronts.
Colorado Open Lands spearheaded the land conservation component of the South Park Basin Legacy Project. Working in concert with The Nature Conservancy, the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust, and private landowners, Colorado Open Lands utilized $4,800,000 to preserve more than 15,500 acres of private lands through perpetual conservation easements. The emphasis of this effort was focused on projects located along the Upper South Platte Rivers’ three primary tributaries, the South and Middle Forks of the South Platte and Tarryall Creek.
Projects included the preservation of historic properties such as the Santa Maria Ranch, the Salt Works Ranch (both listed on the National Register of Historic Places), and the Paris Patent Group, containing a historic mined ore mill believed to qualify for the National Register.
The Hartsel Springs Ranch, which is accessible to the public as part of the Badger Basin State Wildlife Area, contains over five miles of the Middle Fork of the South Platte River. The Lazy River Ranch and Allen Creek Ranches, which are adjacent, contain nearly five miles of Tarryall Creek, and are accessible to the public on a reservation basis through the South Park Flyfishers program. These are just a representative sample of the sixteen properties that were preserved through the South Park Basin Legacy Project.
Two Factors for Success
It is imperative to note two factors that enabled the success of the land conservation component of the South Park Basin Legacy Project.
First, the active support of the Park County Commissioners and financial contributions from The Park County Land and Water Trust Fund were crucial to obtaining funding from Great Outdoors Colorado and ultimately executing the project.
The Park County Land and Water Trust Fund was created by a vote of Park County residents in 1998 through the implementation of a 1% sales tax, to support the preservation, protection, acquisition, improvement, and maintenance of Park County’s remaining water resources, and lands in Park County containing associated water rights and water resources. This source of local funds and the Commissioner’s willingness to allocate funds to the Legacy project demonstrate the commitment of the local community to the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage.
This commitment is amplified when considering the second factor that ensured the success of the project – the charitable contributions of participating landowners, whose donations of land value exceeded $11,700,000 over the project period.
This means that on average landowners accepted less than 30% of cash value for the conservation easements acquired through the project. Colorado Open Lands and our partners applaud the generosity of the landowners whose invaluable contributions enabled the success of the project.
Education and Recreation
Colorado Open Lands played a supporting role to the Park County Tourism and Community Development Office, which coordinated and implemented the resource interpretation component of the South Park Basin Legacy Project. The resource interpretation and education effort allowed the program partners to promote the value and benefits of the South Park Basin Legacy Project elements – open space conservation, land stewardship and new public recreation opportunities.
Five interpretive exhibits were installed at the regional South Park City Museum visitor center, which receives more than 20,000 visitors each year. Six additional free-standing interpretive panels were installed at key areas in the South Park Basin to inform and engage visitors, graphically illustrating the causal relationship between South Park’s natural resources (water, habitat, wildlife and minerals), rich cultural heritage (mining, ranching, railroads and homesteading), and resource-based recreation opportunities.
Finally, the Park County Tourism and Community Development Office developed the innovative South Park Flyfishers program to encourage the private stewardship of high-quality fisheries, and to provide limited public access to private properties through a fee-based reservation system.
Cooperative agreements with private landowners allow for up to two anglers per day to access private properties, providing a rarely experienced, solitary fishing experience to the general public. Access to properties is managed via a reservation system, and every effort has been made to keep the cost within reach of the casual catch-and-release angler.
To date more than 1,300 anglers have participated in the program, which currently boasts access to six high-quality stream reaches of a mile or more in length (for more information visit www.southparktrout.com). The goal of the program was to utilize grant monies to build the program to the point that it could sustain itself without reliance on external revenue.
Based on the programs performance in 2005 and 2006, it appears that South Park Flyfishers will endure beyond the conclusion of the South Park Basin Legacy Project.
National Heritage Area Nomination
On the heels of the success of the South Park Basin Legacy Project, recent bipartisan legislative action by Congressman Joel Hefley and Congressman Ken Salazar has opened the door for national recognition of South Park’s distinctiveness through the National Heritage Area program.
The program is administered by the National Park Service to recognize places where natural, cultural, historic and recreational resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally distinctive landscape arising from patterns of human activity shaped by geography.
National Heritage Area designation, which requires a majority vote in both houses of Congress, could open the door to a stream of federal funds for historic preservation and the expansion of public recreation and education opportunities. Colorado Open Lands, Park County, and our public and private partners recognize that the continued preservation of the context of the cultural history of South Park, the landscape that has influenced human activity in the region, is a vital component to the Heritage Area effort.
Looking to the Future
The completion of the South Park Basin Legacy Project is a milestone for Colorado Open Lands, representing our most focused and highly leveraged regional effort in the history of our organization, protecting more than 15,500 acres of private lands. In South Park, Colorado Open Lands has been instrumental in the protection of nearly 19,000 acres of agricultural lands, wetlands, stream corridors and sensitive wildlife habitat since 1998. Complementary efforts like providing public access to protected properties and providing enhanced public education opportunities are a logical and compelling extension of our land protection activities.
Our project staff are currently pursuing new partnerships and developing project concepts so that we may capitalize on the momentum that we have built in the region. We anticipate that the productive partnerships that have sustained our accomplishments will continue to produce opportunities to preserve Park County’s high quality agricultural and natural lands, and we look forward to keeping you informed of our efforts and future successes in the South Park Basin.