When CCALT and the Yampa Valley Land Trust merged in 2019, the two organizations
brought a large conservation portfolio in Routt, Moffat and Rio Blanco counties together under one banner.

CSU Extension Routt County Director Todd Hagenbuch said that this merger, now celebrating its fifth anniversary, has been “a boon to our conservation efforts in the region and will allow us to continue preserving our important lands well into the future.”

CCALT’s commitment to meeting Northwest Colorado’s unique conservation needs under the Yampa Valley Conservation Partnership includes supporting several public access or open space projects alongside over 70,000 acres of agricultural land in Routt County alone. These conserved public access properties include portions of Emerald Mountain, owned by the City of Steamboat Springs, and Oak Creek Mountain Park in Oak Creek.

Emerald Mountain and OCMP have a number of trails across them. Prayer Flag Road,
which goes across the meadow looker’s left of the Howelsen Hill ski area (clearly visible from the north end of Steamboat Springs), is perhaps the most popular trail on the Emerald Mountain conservation easement and is regularly bicycled and hiked in the summer. In the winter, the same conserved meadow is full of ski tracks made by people skiing off Blackmere Road, another popular trail in the Emerald Mountain system. And all summer long, OCMP’s trails are used by cyclists and hikers from Oak Creek and around Routt County.

Critically, the viewsheds for both open space areas are largely protected by CCALT
conservation easements and agricultural landowners. A significant portion of the landscape
along the Yampa River directly south of Oak Creek, which is clearly visible from the top of
OCMP, is held under easement by CCALT.

Similarly, large portions of the landscape south, north and west of Steamboat Springs — all visible from the Emerald Mountain trail system — are held under CCALT easement. The conserved landscape around Steamboat Springs, taken care of by intergenerational farming and ranching families who work hard to care for their livestock and land in all four seasons, largely defines the area’s essential character.
This interconnected, agricultural conserved landscape does not just benefit recreational
views, though; these easements also hold important habitat for deer, elk, black bear, and many other species that the conservation easements are explicitly intended to protect.

By working with a mixture of private and recreational properties in the Yampa Valley, CCALT and the Yampa Valley Conservation Partnership are proud to provide land conservation solutions that support the agricultural community and provide immense co-benefits to people who recreate in the Yampa Valley.

For more on the Yampa Valley Conservation Partnership, please visit ccalt.org.

Owen Yager works for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust.