None The Nature Conservancy in Colorado Press Releases Search All Press Releases Nancy Fishbein, TNC Phone: (303) 444-2950 Chris West, CCALT Phone: (303) 225-8677 Chris Leding, GOCO Phone: (303) 225-4530

Unique Conservation Transaction Protects Land in San Luis Valley

Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust works with The Nature Conservancy and Saguache County ranchers to safeguard ranchland and wildlife habitat.

Saguache, Colorado — October 2, 2007 — The Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT) and The Nature Conservancy of Colorado (TNC) announced today the permanent protection of an important 160-acre property near the town of Saguache in the northern San Luis Valley. The land, known as the Laughlin Gulch Property, is now under the management of a local ranch family and permanently protected with a conservation easement held by CCALT. The property lies on the historic Laughlin Stock Driveway, the route that ranchers along Saguache Creek have used for more than a century to take their cattle to and from high country range in the San Juan Mountains.

“Saguache Creek is one of the last intact mountain valleys anywhere in Colorado. The Laughlin Gulch Property is a key piece of a cooperative grazing system that has been in place for more than a century.  The ranchers of Saguache Creek need to be recognized for their work in protecting this area. This effort is the direct result of their vision for this valley and their desire to keep it in ranching forever,” said Randy Rusk, CCALT Board Member. “We are thrilled that we were able to develop a solution for this property that keeps it in private hands while protecting the agricultural uses and the wildlife habitat found there. It would have been a huge loss if this had been converted to second home development,” Rusk added.

The Nature Conservancy initially obtained the property as part of the Baca Ranch/Great Sand Dunes acquisition in 2005. Later that year, TNC staff contacted the Cattlemen about the parcel, which lies in the midst of a major agricultural conservation area and which has significant ecological values as well. Over the past two years, the two groups worked together to find a solution that not only protected the property from development, but also returned it to the ownership and stewardship of a local rancher. CCALT was able to acquire the property and return it to the local ranch family with a permanent conservation easement on it.

“We are pleased to be able to play a role in protecting the Saguache Creek area for agriculture. This conservation easement and the others in the valley will help keep ranchers on the land and raising high quality beef cattle,” said Kristi Hill on behalf of the family who purchased the property.

"This project not only demonstrates the power of partnerships, but exemplifies how ranching and conservation can work together. We think this is a win for the entire community," said Charles Bedford, Colorado State Director of The Nature Conservancy.

Funding for the conservation easement came from Lottery-funded Great Outdoors Colorado and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

The 160 acres are completely surrounded by several thousand acres of Federal and State land. The property hosts a spring which provides water year-round for livestock and wildlife in the area. This area is an important big game range, providing habitat for elk, mule deer and bighorn sheep. 

Pine and juniper woodlands cover much of the property, which also has impressive views of the Saguache Creek Valley and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east. To the south and west, the neighboring public lands rise into secluded valleys and forested hillsides that offer numerous recreational amenities including high quality hunting opportunities for elk and mule deer. Protection of the Laughlin Gulch Property ensures that the neighboring public lands will not be negatively affected by development in the area.

The Saguache Creek Corridor:
For nearly a decade, CCALT has been involved with local ranch families in the Saguache Creek Corridor.  These ranchers have explored ways to keep their valley intact and in agriculture. They have arrived at conservation easements as one viable alternative for landowners. Since 2001, CCALT has purchased 14 conservation easements on the irrigated ranches that line Saguache Creek, protecting about 11,000 acres.  GOCO has provided $5.5 million in Lottery funds to CCALT to advance these efforts.  The Laughlin Gulch property is an important parcel in this traditional agricultural system.

The Nature Conservancy has been working in the San Luis Valley for over a decade and was instrumental in the creation of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. The Conservancy owns the 100,000 acre Medano-Zapata Ranch adjacent to the Park and holds a number of conservation easements in the area. Their current efforts are focused on conserving the Rio Grande Corridor in partnership with a number of local land trusts. 

Roughly the size of Connecticut, the San Luis Valley is both one of Colorado's most important areas for agriculture and one of the state’s most biologically significant regions. The Valley contains significant natural values including interdunal wetlands, sand dunes, shrublands and high-elevation forests while the wetlands provide habitat for migrating waterfowl and the dunes are home to eight insect species found nowhere else on Earth.

Images of the site available upon request.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.

Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust helps Colorado's ranchers and farmers protect their agricultural lands and encourage continuing agricultural production for the benefit of themselves, their families and all of Colorado's citizens. To date, CCALT has partnered with over 15o ranchers across the state in the protection of more than 250,000 acres.  For more information visit www.ccalt.org.

Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) uses a portion of Lottery proceeds for projects that preserve and enhance the state’s parks, wildlife, trails, rivers and open space. Since 1994, GOCO has awarded more than $12 million to projects in Saguache County.