LIV Crested Butte Magazine

Preserving These Lands: L a n d C o n s e r v a t i o n i n t h e G u n n i s o n Va l l e y

By Kendra Walker Over the years, Crested Butte has drawn people here for many different reasons. From European immigrants coming here to work the mines, to multi-generational ranching families working off the lands, to recreationists enjoying the year-round outdoor opportunities – Crested Butte’s stunning landscape is what inevitably ties us all together. It’s the endless fields dotted with grazing cattle, the hundreds of miles of recreational trails, the precious wetlands and wildlife habitats, the unobstructed views of the surrounding West Elk Mountains – the landscape is the focal piece of what makes this place so special.

“Crested Butte still looks like it did the day I moved here 30 years ago,” says LIV Sotheby’s agent Channing Boucher. “Because this place is preserved and conserved is why Crested Butte looks the way it does today. Because of land conservation, it keeps all of these open spaces open for all of us to enjoy.”

Crested Butte’s majestic landscape has inspired and instilled a strong community-driven culture of land conservation. Led by various groups with diverse interests ranging from trail creation and stewardship, habitat protection, and ranching advocacy, the goal is the same: to protect and preserve the lands of the Gunnison Valley.

One such group is the Crested Butte Land Trust, a local non-profit that has been protecting and stewarding the Crested Butte landscape for 30 years. Serving as a community ambassador for open space, the Land Trust has helped protect nearly 6,000 acres of land in the Gunnison Valley through land purchases, establishing conservation easements with landowners, and continuous stewardship management. Some of Crested Butte’s most beloved trails and wetlands, including Long Lake and the Lower Loop trails system of the Slate River Valley, are protected thanks to the Land Trust and its collaboration with donors, local partners, and landowners.

“Personally I’ve always been very connected to the land that has been conserved and protected through the Land Trust,” says Crested Butte Land Trust executive director Jake Jones. “I love the environment here in Crested Butte as much as I did when I moved here so many years ago. The Land Trust and the community have been very successful in protecting scenic vistas and recreational opportunities, and so much has been facilitated in partnership with a lot of other stakeholders. I’m proud of that and we will continue with those efforts.”

“When I first came to Crested Butte and what attracted me was all of the open space and the beauty of Crested Butte itself,” says LIV Sotheby’s agent Kiley Flint, who serves on the Land Trust board. “Being affiliated with the Land Trust is something that’s been very important to me in giving back to the community and to protect what Crested Butte is all about; from the ranching heritage, the recreation, the wildlife, these vistas, everything. That foresight this community had to be able to protect our valley is huge and it’s important to value that.”

The Trust for Public Land, a national non-profit organization, has also been involved in many of the key conservation projects in the valley, including Town Ranch Park, Kochevar open space that includes the Lupine Trails, and much of the scenic ranchlands along Highway 135 between Gunnison and Crested Butte. The Trust for Public Land works on a full range of conservation and outdoor recreation-based land transactions, working with communities to create dedicated public funding for open space, parks, and trails. In total, it has permanently conserved nearly 8,500 acres in the Gunnison Valley. ...continued on page 9 8 crestedbuttesothebysrealty.com