Manzanares Creek Ranch is a 500-acre property located at the confluence of Manzanares Creek and the Huerfano River, along the northern slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in western Huerfano County. The property is located in a key area for wildlife, particularly elk, which winter on the property and migrate across the larger area. The Huerfano River crosses the property for 1 mile, and Manzanares Creek crosses for 1.25 miles to their confluence, with active fisheries, beavers, and healthy wetland ecosystems.
Manzanares Creek Ranch provides important connectivity between the Huerfano River and a very large contiguous block of public land extending to the top of the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Area, San Isabel and Rio Grande National Forests, and on to Great Sand Dunes National Park. The property lies between Manzanares Creek State Trust Lands (13,000 acres), which is connected to ~100,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management land, and from there to US Forest Service lands. Further up the Manzanares Creek drainage is a private conservation easement held by COL, with two additional easements and the Huerfano State Wildlife Area within 2 miles to the
west, six more easements three miles to the east, and other active projects in the area.
Keep it Colorado was a project partner.
Photo by Woody Beardsley.