410 Acres of Ranch Land in the North Fork Valley Conserved

The Daily Sentinel, May 23, 2022—The Colorado West Land Trust has announced 410 acres of ranch land south of Colorado Highway 133 between Hotchkiss and Paonia in Delta County will now be conserved via a conservation easement.

According to a press release, the Campbell Ranch is one of the largest intact ranches in that area, and includes hay fields, pastures, scrubland, forests, wetlands and 1.25 miles of the North Fork River.

“From the West Elk Scenic and Historic Byway, one may now look out over this beautiful ranch with assurance that it will never be developed or subdivided in the future,” the release states.

According to the release, the North Fork Valley has seen intense subdivision in recent decades, and the conservation easement in place will ensure the Campbell Ranch isn’t subdivided or developed in the future, no matter who owns the land.

“We greatly appreciate the efforts of landowners like the Campbells, who choose to conserve their properties so future generations can have places to farm and ranch,” said Ilana Moir, director of conservation for the land trust. “It has been a pleasure working with the family, and we look forward to our continued connection with them as they ranch and steward their property.”

“We thought it was important to conserve the property, not knowing what would happen to it in the future,” said Calvin Campbell, a member of the fifth generation to work on the ranch. “The way the valley is becoming discovered, there’s less of an incentive to be in agriculture — we could cash in tomorrow but then it’s gone forever. I don’t know if we’re ever going to see a time when they tear down houses to raise food, but we figured that this is one piece that we can save from ever getting to that point.”

By Sam Klomhaus, TDS Staff

Read the original story here: 410 acres of ranch land in the North Fork Valley conserved | Western Colorado | gjsentinel.com

0