Western Land Group, Inc. 

Public Lands Specialists

TOTAL LAND PROTECTED IN
SAGUACHE CREEK CORRIDOR REACHES OVER 6000 ACRES

            DENVER-- The Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT) has purchased five conservation easements in the Saguache Creek corridor west of the town of Saguache.  CCALT has been working with landowners in the corridor for more than seven years and has now closed nine conservation easements.  The latest five projects, which include Cemetery Road Ranch North and South, E Bar 7 Ranch, 101 Land and Cattle Ranch, and N Lazy R Ranch bring the total acreage of protected land in the Saguache Creek corridor to 6,982 acres.

“When we first started working down here seven years ago, I don’t think anyone believed we could pull it off,” said Lynne Sherrod, CCALT Executive Director.  “But these landowners have had a compelling vision and we’re now halfway to realizing it.”

The conservation easements focus on the protection of working agricultural lands and help protect wildlife habitat and riparian communities by permanently restricting future development of the properties.

CCALT, with assistance from Western Land Group, a private consulting firm specializing in complex real estate transactions, raised money for the easement purchases from a variety of sources.  In December 2004, Lottery-funded Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) awarded CCALT a $3.7 million Legacy grant.  In all, GOCO has awarded $5.3 million to CCALT since 2001 to advance its efforts in the Saguache Creek Corridor.  “The commitment of area landowners to preserve this corridor and its wildlife and scenic values has greatly impressed the GOCO Board,” said John Swartout, GOCO executive director.
 
“GOCO’s large-scale commitment to this project has served as a catalyst for attracting other funding,” noted Tim Wohlgenant from Western Land Group.  Other financial contributors to the latest easements include the U.S.D.A. Federal Farm and Ranchland Protection Program administered by the Natural Resource Conservation Service, the Habitat Protection Program of the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and the Liz Claiborne Art Ortenberg Foundation.  In addition, each of the landowners donated about 1/3 of the value of their easement to the CCALT.

“Protection of the ranches in Saguache Creek preserves more than just the pastoral scenery and the wildlife habitat,” said CCALT’s Sherrod.  “It will help preserve a vibrant economy, an agricultural way of life, and a multi-generational history."

“CCALT’s success in this area and others around the state,” she continued, “is defined by one common theme: the trust of the landowners we work with.  We have merely responded to their generosity and foresight.  We feel privileged to have currently partnered with 123 wonderful families in the protection of major working landscapes across this beautiful and productive state totaling over 220,000 acres.”

            Over 135 years ago the Colorado Cattlemen's Association formed the first cattlemen's association in the nation.  In 1995, they once again showcased their foresight by taking the revolutionary step of forming their own land trust, recognizing the need to help Colorado's ranchers and farmers protect their agricultural lands and encourage continuing production for the benefit of themselves, their families and all of Colorado's citizens.