Snowmass Falls Ranch

A New Beginning

By Briant Wiles

When it comes to opportunities to help improve habitat on a newly acquired piece of public ground in the mountains of Colorado, it is hard to beat the Snowmass Falls Ranch project. The 600 plus acre property had been listed for sale and without a conservation easement in place making it ripe for development. The property is important for wildlife being a migration corridor for elk and deer between summer and winter ranges. Up stepped Pitkin County Open Space (PCOS) and purchased the property for the eye-catching sum of some $34 million dollars. It is in the Aspen area after all. Their ultimate goal is to have the parcel transferred to the Forest Service but while the details of the transfer have yet to be worked out PCOS has taken their role as stewards of the land seriously. On Saturday Aug. 17th BHA Stewardship team meet up with PCOS and Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers (RFOV) to start the removal of several miles of old fencing. The property lies in the path of a migration corridor for elk and deer between summer and winter ranges.

All told there were 34 volunteers from around the valley and beyond that showed up to help. We worked for hours untangling the 4-5 strand barbed wire fence and hauling the material up to half a mile. The event was organized by Jack Douglas of the RFOV and let me tell you he knows how to have a good time doing the “Good” work. Not only did Jack nail the logistics of getting folks to the fence site but showed up at the end of the day with a dozen large pizzas for the now hungry crew. We worked for hours untangling the 4-5 strand barbed wire fence and hauling the material up to half a mile.

I have had the pleasure of pulling fence in some pretty remarkable places. Each with its own taste of the wild and natural beauty that make up public lands in Colorado. This site was on another level and volunteers labored in the shade of aspen trees cheered along by a tumbling crystal-clear stream. Taking a break to look around you were greeted by towering craggy summits of the elk range. Removing the old fence was our way of saying our blessings that this beautiful tract of land is now in public hands. If you are interested in learning more about the Snowmass Falls Ranch or want to visit, please check out this article from PCOS.