Conservation partners protect Livermore ranch

Akey ranch property in the Laramie Foothills has been protected by a four-way partnership led by Legacy Land Trust, a private, nonprofit land conservation organization.

The just-completed conservation easement project protects 1.5 miles of Stonewall Creek, important wildlife habitat for a number of species including the Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse.

The conservation easement was purchased with funds from the Colorado Species Conservation Program, managed by the Colorado Division of Wildlife, lottery-funded Great Outdoors Colorado and the Fort Collins Natural Areas program. The owners of Stonewall Creek Ranch, Larry and Anne Peterson, also made a significant donation to complete the project.

This is the second conservation easement on the ranch. In addition to protecting wildlife habitat, the new easement protects a mile of scenic views along U.S. Highway 287, bringing to 7 contiguous miles the total protected frontage along the highway between Fort Collins and Laramie, Wyo. The newly protected lands also connect existing protected private lands to the north and south that serve as a wildlife and scenic corridor.

The project includes the historic Barlow homestead owned by an influential family in the early days of the Livermore area.

The owners of Stonewall Creek Ranch were the key conservation partner in this project, according to Legacy Land Trust executive director Steve Ryder. "The owners have protected 840 acres of the ranch with two conservation easements, and have donated a considerable amount of value with each easement," he said.

Stonewall Creek Ranch is located in the Livermore Valley, part of the Laramie Foothills region northwest of Fort Collins. Legacy Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy, Fort Collins and Larimer County have formed a partnership to protect 55,000 acres of land in the Laramie Foothills region, using an $11.6 million grant from Great Outdoors Colorado.

"This additional contribution of GOCO funds to the effort to protect the Laramie Foothills highlights the importance of the region to Colorado's wildlife and its citizens," said GOCO Executive Director John Swartout.

Legacy Land Trust, formed in 1993, has protected nearly 24,000 acres of land in Larimer, Weld and Jackson counties.