A bison ranch that sits in the shadow of the towering
Sangre de Cristo Mountains in southern Colorado could be sold to
developers this year if The Nature Conservancy doesn’t come
through. Rocky Mountain Bison Inc. has promised to sell its 100,000
acres to the nonprofit Conservancy if the group can raise the
purchase price of $6.4 million by June 30. The owners, longtime
members of The Nature Conservancy, offered the land at below-market
value to the group. Located between the towns of Crestone and
Alamosa, the land lies next to the Great Sand Dunes National
Monument. It contains about one-third of the total sand dune mass
in the valley, and the same rare insects and plants as the
monument.
“This is a biological hotspot,” says
Conservancy staffer Melinda Helmick. “There are species here that
are nowhere else on the planet.”
The land is
also home to a 2,000-head bison herd that will remain if the sale
is completed. The Nature Conservancy of Boulder is counting the
days it has left to raise the needed money through private
donations.
“It has been a nerve-wracking
experience,” says Boulder office director Mark Burget. “If we are
to lose these lands, it would be a tragedy for the ranch and the
entire landscape.”
To learn more, contact the
Nature Conservancy at 1244 Pine Street, Boulder, CO 80302
(303/444-2950).
*Juniper
Davis
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Bison ranch in the balance.
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