This 150-acre ranch is used for hay production and serves as grazing land for sheep and cattle. It is irrigated with two acequias that represent the second- and fifth-oldest water rights in the state! These acequias were dug in the 1850s and pre-date Colorado’s statehood. The ranch consists of irrigated meadows and native grasses that support a wide diversity of wildlife, including elk, mule deer, black bear, mountain lion, raptors, and migratory birds. The acequias that flow through the ranch support banks lined with cottonwood and willow trees and are identified habitat for the southwest willow flycatcher which is federally identified as endangered. In Costilla County, which is 97% private land, conservation easements like this one are critical to COL’s efforts to preserve this area’s exceptional wildlife habitat and unique acequia traditions.
Partners include Natural Resources Conservation Service, Great Outdoors Colorado, the Colorado Conservation Partnership, the LOR Foundation, and the Trinchera-Blanca Foundation.