970-641-4386
Bob and Alice (Carpenter) Fulton have granted
a conservation easement that will protect 279 acres of scenic grazing land on
the eastern slope of Soap Mesa, overlooking Blue Mesa Reservoir. Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust
holds the conservation easement. Local
grassroots organization Gunnison Ranchland Conservation Legacy coordinated the
project and secured grants and donations to fund the deal. The land is now restricted to allow only one
additional home on the entire 279 acres.
Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), funded by the
Colorado Lottery, granted $185,285 for the agricultural land preservation
project. The Gunnison Valley Land
Preservation Fund and private donations to Gunnison Ranchland Legacy provided
the remaining cash. Contributions to the Jim Gebhart Memorial Fund also helped
finance the project. The Fulton Family donated
$242,500 worth of easement value.
Part
of the land included in the easement was homesteaded around 1900 by Alice
Fulton’s
grandparents
Frank Deming and Della Olive Carpenter. The Carpenter family raised sheep in
the
Soap
Creek area until the 1950s, when they switched to Hereford cattle. Later, the construction
of
Blue Mesa Dam in the mid-1960’s divided the family ranch.
“As
with many ranches in the valley, our homes, barns, corrals, other farm
buildings, and hay
fields
were located where the water now fills the Blue Mesa Reservoir today,”
according to Alice
Fulton.
“Only the hillside grazing land remained above the boundary of the U.S.
Reclamation
Project. The opportunity to preserve this piece of our
family’s land is a dream come true.”
The Fultons will
continue to graze livestock on the property.
The conservation easement will also ensure that scenic views from the
West Elk Loop Scenic Byway will be preserved.
The property includes a productive mix of spring-fed meadows, aspen, gambels oak, spruce, and sagebrush grazing land. The easement does not permit public access
to the property.
Gunnison Ranchland Legacy has also secured
partial funding for a conservation easement on the Fulton’s adjacent 120 acres.
However, Legacy still needs to raise another $45,000 in donations to protect
the additional acreage.
Gunnison Legacy has facilitated the placement
of 35 easements on 15,794 acres in the Gunnison/Crested Butte area. GOCO has provided more than $10 million in
lottery proceeds to assist with these easements. The Gunnison Valley Land Preservation Fund
has also contributed $1.3 million toward these ranchland conservation
easements. More than a million dollars in private donations have also helped
Gunnison Legacy complete these projects, according to Lucy Goehl, Executive Director
for the organization.
“We are very grateful for our many supporters
whose contributions ensure that we can continue our mission to preserve
ranching and conserve ranchlands in the Gunnison Country,” Goehl
commented. “Conservation easements help
protect productive ranch lands while also preserving wildlife habitat and
scenic views.”
Further information is available at Gunnison
Legacy’s website, gunnisonlegacy.org.