Reprinted from a Mesa Land Trust Newsletter in 2007

A conservation agreement between John Hendricks and the Mesa Land Trust provides permanent protection for a key parcel in the heart of Unaweep Canyon. Sitting at the base of the 1,200 foot outcrop known as Thimble Rock, and including the iconic Driggs Mansion ruins, the Gil Meadows conservation easement preserves 114 acres along the Unaweep/Tabeguache Scenic Byway.

The conservation agreement prohibits non-agricultural commercial or residential development of the property and allows the land ...

Original story by Sharon Sullivan

Just beyond the beautiful North Fork community of Paonia lies nearly 4,200 acres of prime high mountain rangeland, irrigated pasture, and particularly rich and diverse wildlife habitat along over three miles on both sides of the North Fork of the Gunnison
River.

In the spring of 2011, this ground was on the market and aggressively priced to sell and ...

For Land Trust board member Max Stites, conservation gets personal. Max traces his Plateau Valley roots back four generations. Over the last decades, Mesa Land Trust has completed 31 conservation agreements, protecting over 14,500 acres of Plateau Valley ranch land and wildlife habitat. Protected acreage includes irrigated pastures and migration corridors utilized by elk, deer, and other wildlife species.

We are delighted that Max has generously shared his family’s story with us:

Heber Young and John Stites were big rawboned young men ...

By Sharon Sullivan

The Ouray North Corridor Trail (also known as the Uncompahgre River Walk Loop) was created in 1999. The 18 conserved acres includes a two-mile loop along the river with a bridge linking the two sides. Exercise stations, playgrounds, benches and picnic tables along the trail draw townspeople and visitors alike.

The conserved property also provides access for kayakers and recreationists who want to float the river. During the winter, Ouray County Nordic Council volunteers groom the trails for cross-country ...

By Sharon Sullivan

On a sunny September morning, Al Ruckman shares his bounty with a visitor to his East Orchard Mesa farm–a handful of blackberries from the patch near his house; a ripe peach plucked from the orchard just beyond the front pasture. A box of newly harvested tomatoes, cucumbers and jalapeno peppers sit in the barn ...