The Land Trust is excited to be working on a new kind of conservation project for the organization – Buying a property that will ultimately become a public park.

The 130 acre Three Sisters property offers a rare opportunity to acquire a strategic parcel that will improve access to an extremely popular non-motorized trail system, protect a scenic corridor leading to the Colorado National Monument, and provide recreational and environmental education opportunities

Bordered by BLM and City of Grand Junction land, Three Sisters sits minutes from downtown Grand Junction along Monument Road. Three prominent, highly visible hills, give the property its name. The parcel adjoins the Lunch Loop, a very popular trail system for mountain bikers, runners and hikers.

The Land Trust will partner with the City, the Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Association (COPMOBA), the BLM, and other stakeholders to plan and develop the property. New trails will expand the Lunch Loop trail network, provide additional points of entry into the trail system, and help connect the area to the Colorado Riverfront Trail. Signage will be developed to interpret the area’s natural history.

The Land Trust will negotiate a perpetual conservation agreement with the City that will ensure that the property will forever be available for non-motorized recreation. The land will then be deeded to the City of Grand Junction and managed as an open space park.

The entire project budget, including acquisition, trail development, and environmental education features, is projected at $1.6 million. The Land Trust will raise the funds from individuals, businesses, private foundations, and public sector partners.

“We are delighted to partner with the City of Grand Junction and stake holders to acquire this property, develop it for recreational use, then present a turn-key park to the community,” said Rob Bleiberg, Mesa Land Trust Executive Director.

2020 Update: 

Nine years ago, the Three Sisters project kicked off the Land Trust’s conservation work on Monument Road. Today, the organization has purchased and protected three additional properties. Last week, CWLT conserved and deeded to the City of Grand Junction the 16-acre Jurassic Flats property at the northwest corner of Monument and South Camp roads. Below is the story that appeared in the Daily Sentinel today.