Texas Creek Ranch is north of Westcliffe in the Wet Mountain Valley. It includes two miles of Texas Creek and associated senior water rights among rolling grasslands, riparian wetlands, and aspen groves. A small herd of elk camps out on the property all winter. The ranch is currently leased by a neighbor’s family-run cattle operation. In 2012, 600 acres of this property were protected by San Isabel Land Protect Trust (SILPT), and this easement adds the remaining 394 acres, marking the protection of the entirety of the ranch.
This property is contiguous with three other COL-held conservation easements which also originated with SILPT. One of SILPT’s key initiatives, the Wet Mountain Valley Ranchland Preservation Program, was started in the early 2000s with a goal of protecting as much of the valley floor as possible, ensuring the future of the viewshed to the Sangre de Cristos beyond. With the completion of this project, the program’s accomplishments now encompass nearly 10,000 contiguous protected acres! Previous owners of Texas Creek Ranch, Smokey and Bill Jack, were some of the founders of SILPT and hosted early meetings of the land trust in the cabin on site. When they sold the ranch in 2010, the community held its breath with concerns about potential development. Locals were delighted when the current owners, Larry and Annie Gerdes, purchased the property, continued its good stewardship, and ultimately protected it, forever.