Keep It Colorado Awards $269,900 in Grants to Land Trusts to Help Complete Conservation Projects

Transaction cost assistance reduces barriers to conservation for landowners

May 17, 2021 – DENVER – The nonprofit coalition Keep It Colorado will award $269,900 in grants to help Colorado land trusts complete conservation projects in 2021. With this assistance, land trusts will be able to help landowners cover the high costs of conservation easement transactions and complete conservation activities that protect thousands of acres of land that would otherwise be at imminent risk of being sold, subdivided or converted to other uses.

In total, the selected projects will help conserve more than 3,800 acres of land and leverage more than $1.7 million in tax credits through the state’s conservation easement tax credit program.

Land trusts participated in a competitive RFP process to submit their conservation projects for consideration. The awarded projects are:

• Mt. Harris: Located along the Yampa River in Routt County, this property is located in a former coal production area, and today is an important wetland and riparian habitat corridor. It is home to and provides safe passage for numerous wildlife including elk, mule deer, black bear, moose and mountain lion, as well as range habitat for sandhill crane and bald eagle. Conservation will remove all subdivision rights; limit the total number of permitted residences and residential square footage; and permanently protect a vital segment of the Yampa River corridor. This is a project of Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust.

• Sporleder Ranch: This historic working family ranch in the Spanish Peaks region of Las Animas and Huerfano Counties is surrounded by national forest, and features parks and meadows that help sustain wildlife throughout the year. Conservation of the property will add to the network of federally, state and privately protected lands in the vicinity; protect local agriculture and high-quality wildlife habitat; and support a multi-generational ranching operation in an area facing increasing development pressure. This is a project of Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust.

• Ranch in the North Fork of the Gunnison River: This family-run cattle ranch is located along the West Elk Scenic Byway in the heart of Delta County on the Western Slope. Conservation of this ranch will protect and enhance irrigated agricultural land; scenic viewsheds; and riparian and big-game habitat. In a county where agri-tourism is an important contributor to the local economy, protection of properties like this is critical to help sustain the county’s farming and ranching community, which has been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. This is a project of Colorado West Land Trust.

• Cheley I: This Larimer County property is adjacent to a Cheley Colorado camp and the Comanche Peak Wilderness. Conservation of this area will protect and enhance scenic open space near Rocky Mountain National Park; significant habitat for wildlife species including elk, bear, mountain lion and lynx; and outdoor recreation and education opportunities – including connected public trails used by hikers, hunters, backpackers and wildlife watchers. This is a project of Estes Valley Land Trust.

• La Jara Cañon: This working ranchland straddles La Jara Creek near the village of Capulin, one of the poorest communities in Colorado. The property is a critical part of a multi-generational ranch family’s operation in Conejos County, where agriculture provides 26 percent of all jobs. Primarily used for livestock grazing, the ranchlands feature a high-quality trout stream; rich elk and migratory bird habitat; and riparian corridor. Conservation will protect this property and provide public fishing access while protecting the streambank. This is a project of Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust.

• Fox Creek: This ecologically undisturbed mountain property sits along Fox Creek near the Conejos River canyon, a popular public land recreation destination in the foothills of the South San Juan Mountains in Conejos County. It is a private land refuge for big game including elk, deer, bighorn sheep and turkey; is severe-winter range for numerous large wildlife; and is a scenic byway viewshed. Conservation will protect all of these values as well as ensure continuity and connection with the hundreds of thousands of public-land acres that surround the property. This is a project of Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust.

• Ranch in Park County: This is a historic working cattle ranch on the Platte River that abuts public lands and buffers Pike National Forest. Conservation of the ranch will preserve important agricultural operations; protect critical riparian and aquatic habitat for various flora and fauna; and protect forested uplands that serve as wildlife habitat for threatened and endangered species. The ranch offers programs to educate students about the importance of agriculture in the community, and a Gold Medal Trout Stream on the ranch is open for limited fishing access. This is a project of The Trust for Public Land.

Keep It Colorado received grant requests totaling $621,641, far exceeding the total program funding of $500,000. Keep It Colorado will award the remaining $230,100 to land trusts through a second RFP process in the fall, while doing additional fundraising to meet the high demand.

“We were overwhelmed by the amount of assistance that was requested in this first round,” said Melissa Daruna, Keep It Colorado’s executive director. “There is clearly a need to help land trusts and landowners complete more conservation projects – a sign that conservation continues to be a high priority for Colorado’s private landowners – and we intend to try and meet that demand.”

Keep It Colorado received funding for this program from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO)’s Resilient Communities Program. See the press release here.

About Keep It Colorado

Keep It Colorado serves as a unified voice for conservation organizations focused on private lands conservation, and does so by bringing together land trusts, public agencies and conservation champions around a vision to create a Colorado where people, lands, waters and wildlife thrive. Keep It Colorado advocates for sound public policy; provides connection and collaboration opportunities for conservation partners; offers a forum to address emerging conservation issues and opportunities; pursues sustainable funding and programmatic tools and solutions; and works to advance a culture of conservation in Colorado. Learn more at www.keepitco.org.

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