Colorado 50th Anniversary Logo © TNC

Explore the stories that shaped The Nature Conservancy in Colorado and made lasting impacts for people and wildlife.

2016 marks The Nature Conservancy in Colorado’s 50th Anniversary.  All year long we will be celebrating our work to protect Colorado’s lands and waters, restore our forests and connect more people with nature by highlighting our successes and how they inspire us as we plan for the future.

---

• Features

Learn more about the people and places behind our work over the last 50 years and check back as we add more features during our anniversary year.

Starry Night: The night sky above the Great Sand Dunes National Park dazzles when viewed from Medano Creek. © Nick Hall

Colorado Timeline

Explore the Conservancy's history of 50 years of work across Colorado.

Clear water flowing through the Limay River (Rio Limay), in Neuquen Province, Argentina. The Limay River is a popular destination for fly fisherman in the Patagonian Steppe ecoregion (temperate grasslands of Patagonia). © Bridget Besaw

Conservation at a Global Scale

The Nature Conservancy in Colorado has helped launch global programs in 16 locations throughout the world, through the sharing of best practices, expertise and resources. 

San Miguel River © The Nature Conservancy (Tracey Murray)

Tamarisk Removal on the San Miguel River

Learn how an ambitious project to clear tamarisk from the San Miguel River set the precedent for riparian restoration work in the western United States.

Buttermilk Clouds above Colorado River at Sorrel River Ranch in Utah. © Tom Till

Creating The Nature Conservancy’s Colorado River Program

Learn how states throughout the Colorado River basin came together to create one of the Conservancy's first landscape-level programs.

Great Sand Dunes National Park © Nick Hall

Great Sand Dunes

Watch a video to find out how The Nature Conservancy helped in the creation of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.

JE Canyon Ranch. © Michael Menefee

JE Canyon Ranch

Watch a video about this iconic 50,000-acre property in the heart of southeast Colorado.

Walker Ranch © The Nature Conservancy (Kate Shorrock)

Walker Ranch

Learn how The Nature Conservancy, a lifelong rancher and the U.S. Army came together to protect 22,000 acres in Colorado.

Wildflowers dot the countryside in Phantom Canyon Preserve, located within the Laramie foothills of northeast Colorado. © Wayne Ostlie

Landscape Conservation: Phantom Canyon

When The Nature Conservancy purchased Phantom Canyon in the Laramie Foothills it changed the way the Conservancy approached land protection.

High Creek at High Creek Fen in Colorado in United States, North America. © Harold E. Malde

A Million Pennies for High Creek Fen

What started out as an elementary school math project turned into a lasting legacy for one of Colorado's most unique landscapes—and inspired a new generation of conservationists.

Mexican Cut Preserve in Colorado © Betsy Neely/TNC

The Nature Conservancy’s First Colorado Preserve

The protection of Mexican Cut initiated the founding of The Nature Conservancy in Colorado.

Cottonwoods, grass and gravel bars line the Yampa River as it flows through The Nature Conservancy's Carpenter Ranch, west of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. © Mark Godfrey/TNC

Carpenter Ranch: 20 Years of Protection

Conserving the natural, historical and agricultural heritage of the Yampa Valley.