At the end of March, a conservation easement on 720 acres of land outside Mancos will protect it from future development.
The land has “been an operational cattle ranch for centuries” and is in Chicken Creek, about 5 miles outside town limits, according to a news release from the Montezuma Land Conservancy, which partnered with a local family to make the project happen.
“Half of the property shares a border with San Juan National Forest, creating a buffer and helping to extend migratory pathways for elk and mule deer,” the news release said.
It’s also the highest property in its respective portion of the Mancos watershed, “and paired with its healthy ponderosa pine forest and 17 acres of wetlands, will be a vital piece for protecting this watershed for future generations,” the news release said.
And protecting that cherished land is what motivated the family to conserve it in this way.
“Cattlemen pass through our place on the way to and from their allotments, timber thinning goes on across the private/public boundary, elk find spring habitat in the meadows, hikers enjoy the views in summer and fall from the Chicken Creek Trails, and Chicken Creek Nordic skiers pass by in winter,” said Ryan Brown, a local whose family owns the land.
“It’s for all these reasons that our family thinks preserving this property as a transition and gateway to public lands is important not only for us, but for the future of the community,” said Brown.
The 720 acres that make up the Hackley Place easement means that, in the Mancos watershed alone, the Montezuma Land Conservancy has permanently protected 6,800 acres of land.
That includes over four miles of land on the Mancos River and nearly a mile of Chicken Creek.
Zooming out, on land throughout Montezuma, Dolores and San Miguel counties, the conservancy has protected over 50,000 acres “of open space, wildlife habitat, public access trails and agricultural lands,” the news release said.
The most recent easement was made possible by the Brown/Reddert family and their spouses, with the help of $50,000 in funding from Keep It Colorado’s Transaction Cost Assistance Program.
