Montrose Daily Press, March 12, 2026- Advancing the long-term protection of working agricultural lands, Colorado West Land Trust (CWLT)

partnered with Dirt Capital Partners and the Kropp family to permanently conserve a highly productive organic orchard in the North Fork Valley. With roots in fruit production dating back to the early 1900s, the property represents a living piece of the area’s agricultural heritage. This project ensures the land will forever remain a working farm, protecting prime agricultural soils, senior irrigation water, wildlife habitat, and the rural landscape that defines Delta County.

CWLT placed the property in a conservation easement, permanently limiting subdivision and development while ensuring the land remains dedicated to farming. Conserving this orchard helps secure the long-term viability of agriculture at a time when development pressure continues to threaten working lands across the North Fork Valley.

Dirt Capital Partners acquired the property in close collaboration with the Kropp family of First Fruits Organic Farms, who lease the land to continue farming it. The partnership creates a pathway for the Kropps to eventually purchase the property while ensuring it remains in agricultural production in the meantime. Dirt Capital is an impact investment firm that works with farmers and ranchers nationwide to help them access farmland and support long-term stewardship.

“We work together with regenerative farmers on land access and land acquisition, with the goal of ensuring farmland stays farmland,” said Dominick Grant of Dirt Capital Partners. “In this case, it was important to preserve productive soils and a viable agricultural operation that’s part of the economic and cultural fabric of the North Fork Valley. Partnering with local producers who will ultimately own and steward the land ensures it remains in the hands of the people invested in its long-term success and in the future of their community.”

For the Kropp family, the project represents both the protection of farmland and the continuation of a lifetime spent growing fruit in the valley.

“My dad bought his first orchard in Paonia nearly fifty years ago as a retirement project,” said Kris Kropp of First Fruits Organic Farms. “My wife Tammy and I came over to help for one season, and farming just got in our blood. We stayed, raised our family here, and have been growing fruit ever since.”

The orchard sits between properties the Kropp family already farms and had long been at risk of development. When the land went up for sale and plans for subdivision were already underway, the family worked quickly with partners to find a solution. Dirt Captial purchased the property and worked with Colorado West Land Trust to conserve it.

“Our dream is to buy it and make it part of our long-term farming operation,” Kropp said. “But even if we weren’t able to, the most important thing is that the land will stay farmland. That beautiful farm ground near town won’t turn into houses.”

The conserved property is less than a quarter mile from downtown Paonia and lies within one of Colorado’s two major fruit-producing regions. The North Fork Valley hosts the highest concentration of organic farms per capita in the state and is Colorado’s leading producer of organic apples and cherries. Fruit has been grown on this land for more than a century, and the orchard continues that legacy today through organic apple and pear production supported by senior adjudicated irrigation water rights.

For CWLT, the project reflects a broader strategy to protect working lands, water resources, and community-defined values across Western Colorado.

“This project is about keeping land in agriculture, water in production, and farms connected to their communities,” said Ilana Moir, CWLT Conservation Director. “By partnering with Dirt Capital and local producers, we’re using innovative tools to protect a working orchard that contributes to the local food system and the character of the North Fork Valley.”

Beyond its agricultural value, the property supports important wildlife habitat, including critical winter range for mule deer, habitat for bald eagles, and rare native plant communities.

“Organic agriculture is about farming in harmony with nature—protecting soil health, water quality, and the long-term resilience of the land,” Grant added. “This valley is a special place. The soils, the climate, and the farming community make it incredibly unique, and that makes conservation here especially important.”

The property also contributes to a growing network of conserved farms and ranches in the North Fork Valley, where nearly 5,000 acres of private land have already been protected within a five-mile radius. This conservation effort represents an investment in the long-term health of Western Colorado’s agricultural landscapes and the communities that depend on them.

Advancing Conservation Across the Region

Colorado West Land Trust is excited to announce it has received a $2 million loan from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) to advance an upcoming conservation project in Montrose County.

GOCO’s loan allows CWLT to act quickly to protect valuable farmland, preserve senior water rights, and demonstrate a conservation model that can be replicated across the Colorado River Basin. Additional details about this project will be released soon.