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More land conservation financing needed
by Will Shafrothr, Rocky Mountain News
Saturday, December 9, 2006
Voters across the country were generous this Election Day, approving 99 ballot measures to increase state and local government funding for land conservation. The measures together will raise a record $5.73 billion, just edging the record of $5.68 billion set during the November 1998 election.
Here in Colorado , support for conservation was just as strong, with voters passing four of six local ballot measures that together will generate an estimated $113.6 million for conservation purposes. The successful measures are:
A 1 percent municipal sales tax increase in the city of Basalt that is dedicated to the acquisition of parks, trails and open space that will raise an anticipated $20 million.
A 10-year extension of a 3.75 mill property tax levy in Pitkin County for open space and trails that will raise an anticipated $21 million.
A $10.1 million municipal bond issue in the town of Telluride to buy 57 acres of the valley floor.
A 25-year extension of a 0.25 percent municipal sales tax for open space, parks and recreation in the city of Westminster that will raise an anticipated $62.5 million for conservation purposes.
We can be proud that Colorado has been a leader nationally in public support for conservation, ranking third in the country in both the number of conservation measures passed and total conservation funding raised. Since 1990, voters in Colorado communities have passed 110 of 147 ballot measures that will raise an anticipated $3.4 billion for parks, open space and trails. This large support for public conservation funding shows the commitment Coloradans have made toward protecting the most special places in this state for future generations to enjoy.
The outcome of the elections also gives us renewed hope that we can move conservation finance measures through the legislature that - in 2006 - were either vetoed by the governor or stalled due to lack of support. I believe that we will now find stronger support to allow county voters to expand their sales tax caps by 0.5 percent for dedicated open space projects, and we may have success pushing forward other funding proposals.
Our goal of protecting 2 million acres of Colorado 's most special landscapes definitely was ambitious, but as I see the progress we are making day by day, month by month, I know we will get there.
These four public funding sources keep the momentum going.
Will Shafroth is executive director of the Colorado Conservation Trust in Boulder .
Historic Perry family ranch sold to 'conservation buyers'
by Scott Condon, The Aspen Times
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Bob and Ruth "Ditty" Perry's historic cattle ranch on the outskirts of Carbondale was sold Monday to buyers who plan to keep it out of the hands of developers.
The Perry family sold their 1,180-acre Mt. Sopris Hereford Ranch to three buyers who will continue the agricultural operations, according to Will Shafroth, executive director of Colorado Conservation Trust, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving open space in the state. Shafroth helped bring buyers Sue Rodgers and Tom Bailey together with the Perry family.
Rodgers bought the bulk of the ranch. She will fold the 850 acres of grazing land that she purchased into her adjacent Crystal River Ranch, according to Shafroth.
Bailey bought 302 acres that's most visible from Highway 133. His purchase includes the ranch houses as well as a regal old barn, several sheds and irrigated pastures.
"I have applauded them both for their willingness to step in," said Shafroth. "Neither of them were in the market to buy more land."
The remaining 28 acres of the Perry family ranch was sold to Marjorie Perry, a member of the family, and her husband Bill Fales. They own the adjacent Cold Mountain Ranch.
Bob Perry, a ranching icon in the valley, died Aug. 20, only two days after his family signed a contract to sell the ranch to Rodgers and Bailey.
"I believe that (negotiating with) Bob and Sue as the buyers of the ranch was of great comfort to Bob," said Shafroth.
Shafroth said all parties involved in the transaction designated him as a spokesman. He said Colorado Conservation Trust started talking to the Perry family about conserving the ranch 2 1/2 years ago. He approached them while working with Bailey on a program designed to raise funds to buy conservation easement on ranches and assist families that want to remain in the tough business.
When nothing could be arranged quickly enough on the Perry Ranch, Bailey and Rodgers "gasped" at the prospect of the land being sold and emerged as buyers, he said.
The Perry family received other offers from prospective buyers, but selected Rodgers and Bailey, according to Shafroth. The sales amount wasn't released at the family's request and it hadn't been recorded Tuesday with the Garfield County Clerk's office.
The development potential of the ranch is huge. It is located about one mile south of Carbondale. Most of it is in Garfield County with some in Pitkin County. The ranch abuts River Valley Ranch, a golf course and residential community developed in the 1990s by Gerald Hines.
"You can just imagine River Valley Ranch continuing to move that direction," said Shafroth.
The operation was part of a larger ranch that was in Ruth Brown Perry's family since 1924. Her father D.R.C. Brown was an early merchant in Aspen who amassed a fortune in silver mines.
Ruth and Bob moved to the ranch in 1941 and raised their seven children there. The family helped determine who to sell the land to, according to Shafroth.
A statement released by the family through Shafroth read, in part: "The Perry family appreciates the efforts of the Colorado Conservation Trust in making this happen so the ranching tradition can continue in the Crystal River Valley."
Rodgers was a longtime neighbor of the Perry family. Her family has ranched in the area since the 1940s.
"I'm so pleased to have the opportunity to join two historic ranches on the West Mesa.," Rodgers said in a prepared statement. "The Perrys have always been such good neighbors."
Bailey owns the Iron Rose Ranch east of Carbondale. "I intend to keep this land in agriculture and manage it for hay, cows and horses," said Bailey in the statement. "It's one of the most beautiful ranches in Colorado and a great honor for me to succeed the Perrys in stewarding this land."
Both Bailey and Rodgers credited the Colorado Conservation Trust for helping facilitate the deal.
Now that the sale is completed, Shafroth said he is looking forward to working with the two primary buyers on conservation plans in 2007. Conservation easements remove tax burdens from agriculture land owners while also removing the development potential. It also allows the owners stay on the land and continue agricultural operations.
"I'm confident, knowing Tom and Sue and what they care about, that this ranch will be preserved for agriculture," Shafroth said.
Scott Condon's e-mail address is scondon@aspentimes.com .
Ranch Near Carbondale Sold To Preserve It
by cbs4denver.com
Thursday, November 23, 2006
AP) ASPEN, Colo. A 1,180-acre ranch outside Carbondale has been sold to three buyers who plan to preserve it from development.
The family of Bob and Ruth "Ditty" Perry sold Mt. Sopris Hereford Ranch on Monday to buyers who will continue the agricultural operations, according to Will Shafroth, executive director of Colorado Conservation Trust. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to preserving open space and helped bring the buyers together with the Perry family.
Sue Rodgers bought 850 acres of grazing land that she plans to fold into her neighboring Crystal River Ranch, Shafroth said.
Tom Bailey bought 302 acres that includes the ranch houses, a barn, several sheds and irrigated pastures. Bailey said he planned to manage the land for hay, cows and horses.
The last 28 acres will go to Perry family member Marjorie Perry and her husband, Bill Fales, who own the adjacent Cold Mountain Ranch.
The sale price was not released.
Stirdes made in land consevation
by Will Shafroth, The Denver Post
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Last September, the Colorado Conservation Trust issued a groundbreaking report, "Colorado Conservation at a Crossroads," the first comprehensive assessment of land conservation efforts in the state. The report praised Colorado for being a national leader in land conservation, but also noted that we face significant future threats in protecting our state's open spaces, working agricultural lands and important wildlife habitats due to rapidly growing population and changes in our land- use patterns.
The report called for protecting 2 million acres of land by 2015, an ambitious goal given that only 1.6 million acres had been protected when the report was written. But with the enviable quality of life we Coloradans enjoy at stake, it was vital to set the bar high if we wanted to save our most special places for future generations. The report cited the need to increase public and private funding, expand the available conservation tools, identify statewide priorities and enhance the effectiveness of conservation organizations and agencies working throughout the state.
We have made significant headway toward reaching this goal. Colorado conservation organizations and agencies protected 179,000 acres of land during 2005. Voters in four communities around the state adopted new or expanded existing public funding mechanisms to conserve open space. Important tax code changes enacted this year at the state and federal levels will provide additional incentives for landowners to voluntarily conserve their lands.
Perhaps the most important indicator of the progress made is the preservation of 179,000 acres last year through voluntary conservation actions. This is an area roughly equal to a mile-wide corridor running along Interstate 25 from the New Mexico to Wyoming borders. It represents farmers and ranchers agreeing to keep their lands in active production in the future, as well as communities establishing undeveloped open-space parks for hiking and biking. Many of the lands conserved include riparian areas and important wildlife corridors, so they also play valuable roles in ensuring the vibrancy of wildlife populations. These protected areas also form buffers between communities in the developed portions of the state, protecting community identities and scenic vistas and providing necessary "breathing room" for residents.
Our ability to preserve important landscapes rests in large measure on the availability of financial incentives. In the past year, huge progress was made through expanded public funding sources, additional tax incentives for private conservation efforts and establishment of two revolving loan funds.
Colorado voters took action by passing four conservation ballot measures. Durango citizens approved a new open-space funding measure, Routt County voters added additional funding to their existing program, and voters in Evergreen and Superior approved bond measures that speed up access to their existing funding streams so that land can be acquired while it is available. In the past 12 years, Colorado voters have passed 95 conservation measures; collectively, these will generate $69 million annually over the next five years.
CCT worked with the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts earlier this year to get the Colorado legislature to make significant improvements to the state's conservation easement tax credit program. This innovative program has become the state's largest conservation program, protecting tens of thousands of acres of land while saving taxpayers millions of dollars each year. The new law increases the maximum credit for landowners who donate conservation easements from $260,000 to $375,000. When combined with the program's unique feature allowing "land-rich, cash- poor" landowners to sell the tax credits to Coloradans with large state tax liabilities, the expanded cap will serve as a significant incentive for landowners to protect their land.
The national Land Trust Alliance worked with Congress to expand financial incentives for placing land under conservation easements. The new law raises the deduction level - particularly for farmers and ranchers - and expands the length of time donors have to take the deductions.
Using money raised by key foundations and individuals, CCT set up two conservation loan funds that together have more than $4 million available to help provide bridge financing for land conservation transactions. These funds provide needed short- term capital to facilitate conservation efforts that might otherwise founder while financing is being arranged.
While the progress we made in the past year gives us much to celebrate, there remains a significant $1.2 billion gap between what needs to be accomplished and the resources available. What's at stake is what makes Colorado such a special place to live. Let's get going!
Will Shafroth is executive director of the Colorado Conservation Trust and chair of the Land Trust Alliance.
Statewide conservation group updates status
by Matt Hildner, Montrose Daily
Monday, September 25, 2006
MONTROSE A statewide land trust whose goal is to preserve two million acres in Colorado by 2015, is just behind the needed pace, but hopes the implementation of new state and federal programs will aid its efforts.
In 2005 the Colorado Conservation Trust issued a report, listing Montrose County as one of 12 counties in the state with high potential threats to open space and a limited capacity to preserve it.
According to the update, there were 5,137 acres protected in the county last year. Before last year 12,813 acres had been preserved. Statewide conservation agencies and organizations protected 179,000 acres in 2005, an amount that Will Shafroth, executive director of the trust, believes could rise.
Next year the state will see an increase in the maximum tax credit from $260,000 to $375,000.
The federal government will also expand the tax deduction for conservation easement donations.
I think the big change will be in 2007 when the federal and state changes will both be in affect, Shafroth said.
Shafroth said preservation efforts in many areas across the state - including the Uncompahgre Valley - are hindered by the lack of a dedicated source of funding from local government.
Shafroth said twice the state Legislature has passed measures allowing counties to seek the voters' permission to lift to lift sales-tax caps, but in both instances they were vetoed by Gov. Bill Owens.
We think that would be an important tool to empower many governments on the Western Slope to take the open space challenge a little more seriously, he said.
Conservation groups may also face an economic downturn in 2007, limiting the amount of donations they receive.
During economic recessions, charitable contributions tend to drop off, he said. The approach that we've taken is to try to engage people who have sufficient discretionary income.
On the Western Slope, the conservation trust pointed to a number of successes in the past year. The Mesa Land Trust preserved two orchards in Palisade that will provide separation between the town and neighboring communities and protect scenic views along I-70.
The Gunnison Ranchlands Conservation Fund also completed a second phase in the preservation of the 1,420-acre Robbins Ranch west of Gunnison. The ranch contains Gunnison sage grouse habitat and important wintering ground for elk.
Contact Matt Hildner via e-mail at matth@montrosepress.com
Protecting, preserving Colorado's open space
by Joanne Ditmer, The Denver Post
Friday, September 16, 2006
Colorado's burgeoning growth threatens to erase vast areas of open space. With 100,000 more people every year, the magnificent vistas we cherish as our heritage, both natural open spaces and the irreplaceable Western ranches, become subdivisions or ranchettes.
Colorado had a population of 2.2 million in 1970. It's 4.7 million today, with more than 7 million expected by 2030. In 1970, developed land was 1.3 million acres. By 2000, developed land had almost doubled to 2.5 million acres - and 3.5 million acres is expected to be developed by 2030. To complete your perspective, know that Colorado is 66,618,481 acres. Private lands are 38,634,000, or 58 percent of the state; the federal government has 24,804,000 acres, or 37.2 percent - national forests and parks, Bureau of Land Management, etc. - and the state government owns 3,180,000 acres or 4.8 percent.
Coloradans have strongly backed open space protection and conservation in recent years, both in public opinion polls and by passing tax measures to provide funding for open space. This includes actually buying the land, or buying conservation easements that limit future development while permitting the land owner, usually ranchers or farmers, to continue food production. Eighty percent of Colorado's private lands are owned by farmers and ranchers, many nearing retirement. Forty municipalities and counties have such dedicated revenues, and in 1992 state voters approved Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), which uses a portion of lottery funds for open space, wildlife, parks, etc.
The Colorado Conservation Trust, a statewide non-profit "passionate about keeping the very special places of Colorado special forever," Tuesday released a statewide survey of open space protection, the first-ever such comprehensive inventory. It's a powerful and intriguing look into Colorado's future quality of life.
Participants included the 46 local, statewide and national land trusts that operate in Colorado and the 40 cities and counties with dedicated revenues for open space. They were asked what lands they had protected, what their goals were for the next 5 and 10 years, and how they expected to achieve them.
The land trusts have protected 1.32 million acres of land - 82 percent of the 1.6 million total acres protected, and local governments have protected 280,000 acres. This includes the hundreds of landowners who have donated land for conservation. Ninety percent of the land protected by local governments is along Colorado's Front Range, where most of the development is, and is expected to continue.
These 86 entities have a goal for open space protection in the next 5 years of 1.061 million acres at a cost of $1.1 billion, and in 10 years, 2 million acres at a cost of $2 billion. Existing revenue sources fall short, at $1.2 billion.
"We'll need an additional $50 [million] to $75 million per year to achieve this, and private dollars will be the catalyst," Will Shafroth, executive director of Colorado Conservation Trust and previously of GOCO, said at the reception releasing the report. "This will be money from foundations, corporations, individuals. We're going to lose some places, so we need to identify and develop conservation priorities so that we focus on the significant lands, whether agricultural, community separators, recreation/park buffers and access, river corridors, scenic lands and wildlife habitat. We must maximize the public benefits. Our actions over the next 10 years will determine Colorado's future."
It's a tremendous challenge, but one that concerned Colorado citizens can meet and achieve. For a copy of "Colorado Conservation at a Crossroads," go to coctinfo@coct.org , call 720-565-8289, or fax 720-565-8670.
Joanne Ditmer's column on environmental and urban issues for The Post began in 1962 and now appears monthly.
Mining Act will face more challenges
by Will Shafrothr, The Denver Post
Sunday, January 1, 2006
The recent attempt to amend the 1872 Mining Act could have opened up millions of acres of federal land to private development. The withdrawal of this ill-conceived proposal allows many of us to breathe a sigh of relief. But the author of the amendment, Congressman Jim Gibbons from Nevada , says he only did so because of procedural rules in the Senate and that he'd be back in 2006. This doesn't give us much comfort.
This temporary reprieve does, however, afford an opportunity to be thoughtful about how we approach amending the 1872 Mining Act . Colorado 's two U.S. senators - Republican Wayne Allard and Democrat Ken Salazar - were united in their opposition to these amendments and have called for a more open process to consider how to amend the Mining Act . Both opponents (local governments, environmental and wildlife groups, and some ski areas) and proponents (the mining industry) of the Gibbons proposal deserve a seat at the table.
I encourage Colorado 's congressional delegation and other elected officials to carefully consider our state's significant investment in protecting land in the debate. The Mining Act needs to be revised, but Gibbons' proposed changes would have undermined 30 years of public investments and put a chill on future efforts to keep public lands public.
Colorado is a national leader in protecting open spaces. Forty local governments and 46 land trusts have protected more than 1.6 million acres of land in Colorado in the past 30 years. More than a billion dollars in public funds have been invested in preserving these lands, which greatly contribute to the quality of life and economy of our state.
And, tens of millions of public dollars have been invested by federal, state and local governments to buy mining claims in Colorado . If a proposal such as Gibbons' becomes law, some of the millions spent will have been for naught.
Data from just a few counties demonstrate the significant amount of funds that have been spent on purchasing patented mining claims and other in-holdings within federal lands. Pitkin County spent $20.5 million of local sales tax revenues to preserve 521 acres of mining claims, including $15 million on the Smuggler Mine that overlooks Aspen . In Summit County , almost 6,000 acres have been protected within or adjacent to U.S. Forest Service lands, for a total cost of $20 million - $12.5 million of which is from a voter-approved sales tax dedicated to open space.
In addition to these counties, private groups like the Trust for Public Land and the Wilderness Land Trust have been working for decades to make sense of the patchwork of private mining claims that exists within federal lands. They have received tens of millions of dollars from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund to buy those claims to make sure they're never developed.
Gibbons' proposed changes would likely have opened up new opportunities for mining claims in the same areas where local governments and land trusts have been diligently eliminating them. Gibbons' proposal would have negated the value of much of their work.
The reason these public and private entities have been hard at work to preserve these lands is that development of these mining claims negatively impacts wildlife, destroys the beauty of Colorado's most scenic lands and impedes access to Colorado's majestic 14,000-foot peaks. In fact, public access to four of Colorado 's 14ers - Lincoln, Bross, Democrat and Wilson - has been recently challenged by owners of patented mining claims.
Further, if allowed to develop into residential uses, these mining claims can cause what some have called "backcountry sprawl." This kind of development can be seen in places like Hoosier Pass from Breckenridge to Fairplay, the valley between Nederland and Eldora, and the High Elk Corridor between Crested Butte and Aspen .
States like Colorado have much to lose if the floodgates are opened to selling off our public lands, both in terms of the quality of our environment and the significant investment of public funds.
For all these reasons, Congress needs to be very careful amending the 1872 Mining Act .
Will Shafroth is executive director of the Colorado Conservation Trust.
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