The 122-acre Jacober Ranch sits seven miles west of the Town of San Luis in Costilla County. It is visible from the Los Caminos Antiguos Scenic and Historic Byway, which meanders through the southern San Luis Valley. This agricultural property consists of irrigated hayfields and pastures with water drawn from the San Acacio Ditch. The ranch’s position as one of the last properties irrigated by the San Acacio acequia, one of the most senior water rights in the state, makes it a priority for preservation of water rights upstream along the entire ditch.
The property’s irrigated fields and pastures provide scenic enjoyment to the general public while also providing habitat and forage for a diversity of wildlife including elk, mule deer, pronghorn, black bear, mountain lion, and a variety of migratory birds and raptor species. Jacober Ranch also provides seasonal habitat for bald eagle and greater sandhill crane, and breeding habitat for northern leopard frog, all Colorado Species of Concern.
Project partners include Great Outdoors Colorado, Natural Resource Conservation Service, the LOR Foundation, and the Trinchera Blanca Foundation.