The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
More than 300 acres to be protected
One of the East River Valley’s best views will be preserved into the future now that the finishing touches have been put on a conservation easement across 190 acres of the Cold Springs Ranch. Another 120-acre parcel will get the same treatment sometime in the future. The Ranch is located south of Crested Butte Mountain up Brush Creek Road.
Justin Spring of the Trust for Public Land, which facilitated the land transfer, says not much will likely change on the property, which has been part of a cattle ranch in the Veltri family since the 1930s. “It’s been a privilege to work with the Veltris to preserve their Cold Spring Ranch,” he said.
Instead the easement will mean that no new development will be allowed on the property outside of the envelope where the ranch house is currently located. The rest is up to the Veltri family and Colorado Open Lands, which will manage the conservation easement.
“All the due diligence is completed and approved,” Spring said. “The TPL facilitated the transaction. Once we raise the money to complete the project, we can step back and allow the owners of Cold Springs Ranch to convey the conservation easement to Colorado Open Lands.”
Along with Colorado Open Lands and the TPL, the town of Crested Butte, 1% for Open Space, the Gunnison County Land Preservation Board, one anonymous donor, and Great Outdoors Colorado all contributed to the project.
Cold Springs Ranch counsel Jim Starr said, “A project of this size is always difficult because of the funding partners involved. But I really appreciated the fact that the community stepped up to support this project.”
“No new public access is anticipated on the ranch itself,” Spring says. “However, this project has helped to encourage the owners of Cold Springs Ranch to reopen the road to Strand Hill, so that’s been a great public access outcome.”
