Private donors and partners are vital
to Legacy's success...

Since 1996, Gunnison Ranchland Conservation Legacy (GRCL) has facilitated 38 conservation easements on 16,535 acres.  This success could not have been possible without financial support and expert assistance from a number of partners, including generous private donors.

Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) has contributed approximately $10 million for GRCL's conservation easement projects.  GOCO's staff and board of directors have supported our work from the start, with their first awarded grant to GRCL in 1996.

GOCO is funded through the Colorado Lottery and awards competitive grants for the preservation of open space and natural areas across Colorado.
In December of 2007, GOCO awarded another $3 million grant for ranchland preservation in the Gunnison-Crested Butte area.  In partnership with the Crested Butte Land Trust and The Nature Conservancy, GRCL plans to protect another 1600 acres of productive, scenic ranchlands.




  • The Gunnison Land Preservation Fund






  • US Department of Agriculture's Farmland Protection Program




  • Colorado Division of Wildlife






  • Colorado Conservation Trust






  • National Fish and Wildlife Foundation


GRCL also works with a number of partners to complete our conservation easement projects.  Land trusts that hold the rancher's easements include:

  • Colorado Open Lands
  • Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust
  • The Nature Conservancy
These organizations are responsible for the monitoring and enforcement of the easements in perpetuity.  The staff of the land trusts and the funding agencies work diligently with the GRCL and ranch families to develop conservation easements that fulfill the needs of the ranch families and protect the conservation values on the property.  The Natural Resource Conservation Service and the Division of Wildlife frequently assist with management plans for the properties.



Additional funding partners include:
Gunnison Ranchland Conservation Legacy extends our sincere thanks
to all of the friends and supporters who make our work possible. 
Every project is the result of our dedicated partners.