"Land has no value without water." - John Wesley Powell

The Roaring Fork Valley is home to some of the most spectacular scenery and water in the world. Water is perhaps our greatest resource, and is truly the lifeblood of the planet. A healthy watershed is necessary to the protection of this resource, as it is the sponge and filter that collects and purifies the water that we play in, rely upon, drink, and enjoy.

Roaring Fork Conservancy is dedicated to protecting and preserving the rivers of the Roaring Fork Valley Watershed. In so doing, we have been actively conserving land and water throughout the Roaring Fork Valley since 1998, shortly after our inception. As a Nationally recognized land trust, we are members of the Land Trust Alliance and Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts. Most recently we have adopted the Land Trust Alliance Standards and Practices, and are currently working on strategic land protection strategies to help identify and conserve some of the most ecologically critical pieces of land in the Roaring Fork Valley.

Roaring Fork Conservancy's primary goal is to protect wetlands and riparian (stream side) corridors throughout the Valley through conservation easements and property acquisition. By placing property into an easement it is protected for eternity and cannot be developed upon in a harmful manner. By protecting these areas, we are helping to ensure the health of the Valley's rivers and water resources, as well as the publics' access to the river in an increasingly privatized society. Roaring Fork Conservancy also defends its mission by protecting open space and agricultural parcels, as well as critical wildlife habitat and wildlife migration corridors.

To date Roaring Fork Conservancy has been involved in protecting about 277 acres of property on ten conservation easements on the Roaring Fork, Crystal, and Cattle Creek river drainages. We are currently negotiating several other conservation easements on more acres of land. Roaring Fork Conservancy maintains an active monitoring and stewardship program for each of its conservation easements, and takes pride in offering environmental education programs on several properties that benefit the Valley's youth and public at large.

To become involved in Roaring Fork Conservancy's land protection program, or to learn more about conservation easements and other strategies to protect your land, click here.

Pitkin County Open Space and Trails and Roaring Fork Conservancy worked together to protect prime Crystal River habitat adjacent to the 190-acre Filoha Meadows Nature Preserve. Named the “Grange Loadout Parcel” because of the presence of a cattle loadout structure that was once part of the Grange Ranch, the 9-acre property was purchased by Pitkin County Open Space and Trails and is the final phase of eight years of work by the County to reassemble and protect this historic ranchland. A conservation easement placed on the property will be held by Roaring Fork Conservancy, adding extra assurance that the property will be preserved as open space.

Although the property provided pasture for horses and cattle, that use no longer continues. Future management of the easement property will focus on restoration of native ecological communities which include aspen, ponderosa, narrowleaf cottonwood, and blue spruce forest resources. In addition, the location adjacent to the 190-acre Filoha Meadows Nature Preserve provides an invaluable buffer between residential development and this important conservation area with significant biological diversity. Protection of this riverside property will preserve an important viewshed for area residents and numerous bicyclists and motorists traveling along State Highway 133 which comprises a portion of the West Elk Loop Scenic and Historic Byway. Designated by the Secretary of Transportation, the West Elk Loop has been described by a forest ranger as "the closest you can come to a wilderness experience in a passenger car". This route has a unique combination of geological, historical, recreational, and scenic features. The easement property, as part of the Filoha Meadows/White River National Forest protected area complex provides access to watchable wildlife, hot springs, and historic vistas that are an essential component of the Scenic Byway.