The Caldon Base Ranch conservation easement lies in Conejos County, just north of the town of Manassa. Nearly 75% of the 529-acre ranch consists of prime agricultural soils, and approximately 30% of the ranch is classified as wetlands. The property provides habitat for numerous species of raptors, including the bald eagle, golden eagle, and American peregrine falcon. In addition to raptor habitat, the ranch lies within the migratory flyway of the entire population of Rocky Mountain greater sandhill cranes, which often visit the meadows of the property during their spring and fall migrations.
Caldon Base Ranch is irrigated by one of the most senior water rights on the Conejos River, a tributary to the Rio Grande. These water rights support the wetlands and also allow for future agricultural viability of the property, which supports the economy and the heritage of the region. Eighty percent of all wetlands in the San Luis Valley are found on private lands and function primarily due to irrigation for agriculture.
This project was supported by funding from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the LOR Foundation, and Great Outdoors Colorado. It is part of the Conejos Ranchland Initiative – a partnership between COL, Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust, and the Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust – to conserve critical working lands along the Conejos River corridor.