White River Valley - September 2007

A conservation easement on private land north of Meeker will protect more than 2,000 acres of wildlife habitat. The Lunney Mountain Ranch conservation easement was acquired from the Harvey family, who has owned the land for several generations. The easement was purchased with funding provided by the Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) and Great Outdoors Colorado. The easement will be held in perpetuity by Yampa Valley Land Trust. Yampa Valley Land Trust facilitated the transaction.
 

"This is the kind of exceptional habitat that sportsmen want to protect for the future of Colorado's wildlife resource," explained Ron Velarde, DOW regional manager for northwest Colorado. "While this easement specifically protects valuable sharp-tailed grouse habitat, the easement also protects habitat for lots of other wildlife."
 

The private ranch covers diverse terrain ranging from riparian habitat along Coal Creek (elevation 6,800 feet) to mountain shrub land and thick timber stands atop Lunney Mountain (elevation 8,500 feet). The ranch provides valuable habitat for Columbian sharp-tailed grouse, greater sage-grouse, mule deer, elk, black bears, mountain lions, several species of trout and dozens of species of small mammals and birds.
 

Columbian sharp-tailed grouse are increasingly found among the sagebrush and aspen stands of the ranch. Sharp-tailed grouse historically occupied 22 counties in western Colorado, but their range has reduced to populations in Moffat, Routt and Rio Blanco counties. The Columbian sharp-tailed grouse was petitioned for listing as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1999, but determined to be not warranted for listing by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 2000.

More than 500 elk and 100 mule deer winter on Lunney Mountain Ranch. Thousands more deer and elk migrate across the ranch during their annual journey between the summer range in the White River National Forest and winter range in the areas north and west of Meeker.

Riparian habitat along Coal Creek is critical for dozens of species of wildlife. About half of the wildlife species in the state utilize riparian habitat at some time during their lifecycle. The stream habitat on Lunney Mountain Ranch not only supports trout populations, but also supports beaver, salamander, leopard frogs, muskrat and songbirds in the numerous streamside stands of willow and cottonwood.
A management agreement for the property establishes guidelines and recommendations for improving wildlife habitat. DOW will be responsible for monitoring the property to confirm that wildlife values and uses are maintained into the future.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife is the state agency responsible for managing wildlife and its habitat, as well as providing wildlife related recreation. The Division is funded through hunting and fishing license fees, federal grants and Colorado Lottery proceeds through Great Outdoors Colorado.
Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) uses a portion of Lottery proceeds for projects that preserve and enhance the state’s parks, wildlife, trails, rivers and open space. Since 1994, GOCO has awarded more than $2.5 million to projects in Rio Blanco County.

The mission of Yampa Valley Land Trust, a non-profit land conservation organization, is to conserve natural, scenic, agricultural, historic and other important open land resources in Northwest Colorado. Yampa Valley Land Trust worked with the landowners to facilitate and raise funds for the Lunney Mountain Ranch conservation easement project.