A Colorado family has protected a 684-acre historic ranch after more than 90 years of family stewardship, ensuring that its agricultural landscape, water resources, wildlife habitat and historic character can remain safeguarded for generations. Known as Ute Ranch, the property in western Montrose County has been placed under a permanent conservation easement through the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust. Owner Kathy Cooper donated the conservation easement rather than selling the ranch, allowing the land to remain privately owned while limiting future development. The property contains irrigated hay meadows, a reservoir, livestock infrastructure and historic buildings, while its past includes service as a U.S. Forest Service ranger station, postmaster’s station and seasonal cow camp. The ranch continues to support agriculture while providing habitat for wildlife.
Colorado family protects 684-acre ranch after 90 years
Cooper’s family has cared for Ute Ranch for more than nine decades, with generations maintaining their connection to the property and its landscape. According to the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust, Cooper’s grandparents and parents worked hard for the property, leaving behind memories and a family heritage she wanted to preserve. Rather than allowing the ranch’s future to be shaped by development, Cooper chose to donate a conservation easement that will keep the land protected. She has described the ranch as her “go-to place” and “happy place”, reflecting its importance to her and her family. The decision means the property can remain a working ranch while carrying its conservation protections into the future.
Historic ranch once served as a ranger and postmaster station
Ute Ranch has a history that stretches beyond the Cooper family’s stewardship. The property once served as a U.S. Forest Service ranger station, a postmaster’s station and a seasonal cow camp, connecting it to the working history of the surrounding region. Several historic and agricultural structures remain on the property, including a barn, corrals, shed, bunkhouse and rustic cabin, along with remnants of the original homestead. The available conservation sources identify the ranch site as having served the ranger and postmaster functions, although they do not specifically establish that the surviving cabin itself served both roles. The historic structures therefore form part of a broader landscape preserving traces of the ranch’s earlier uses.
684 acres remain a working landscape
The conservation easement does not turn Ute Ranch into a closed nature preserve. The property remains an active agricultural landscape, with around 100 acres of irrigated hay meadows and a 40-acre reservoir. The reservoir provides water for cattle as well as wildlife, making the ranch’s water resources important to both agricultural production and the surrounding ecosystem. The property is also subject to a seasonal grazing arrangement with the neighbouring Galley family, allowing livestock production to continue. This combination of conservation and agriculture is central to the project, as the easement is designed to prevent incompatible development while retaining established working uses.
Protected ranch provides habitat for wildlife
Beyond its value to ranching, Ute Ranch provides habitat for a range of wildlife. The Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust identifies mule deer, elk and migratory birds among the species using the property. The ranch also forms part of a broader pattern of conserved private lands in western Montrose County. Protecting individual ranches can help maintain a larger connected landscape where agricultural fields, water sources and natural habitat remain together instead of being fragmented by development. The reservoir is particularly important because it provides water for both livestock and wildlife. The conservation easement therefore protects not only the acreage itself but also important ecological features within the property.
Family donated conservation easement to protect the land
The protection of Ute Ranch was achieved through a conservation easement rather than an outright land purchase. Cooper continues to own the property, but the easement places permanent restrictions on development and other uses that could undermine its conservation values. Great Outdoors Colorado provided $40,000 through Keep It Colorado’s Transaction Cost Assistance Program to help with expenses associated with completing the conservation easement. The funding was support for the transaction and was not the purchase price of the ranch. The easement itself was donated by Cooper, making the decision a voluntary contribution of development rights to preserve the property’s agricultural and natural character.
Ranch continues to connect children with its history
The property also provides an opportunity for younger generations to experience the landscape. Great Outdoors Colorado says Cooper hosts an annual day camp for third-grade students from Naturita Elementary School. During visits to the ranch, children can learn about the local land and its history while developing a connection with the landscape. The educational use adds another dimension to the conservation project. Protecting Ute Ranch does not simply preserve acreage on a map. It helps retain a physical setting where stories about ranching, land stewardship and the region’s past can continue to be shared with future generations.
Conservation easement protects the ranch for generations
The easement includes two building envelopes covering about 7.5 acres, allowing existing structures and certain future activities to remain within designated areas while the larger ranch stays protected. The arrangement balances continued private ownership and agricultural use with permanent conservation restrictions. For Cooper’s family, the decision provides a way to carry forward the legacy of people who spent decades caring for the property without requiring future generations to make the same decision again. The conservation commitment becomes part of the land itself, allowing the 684 acres to continue supporting hay production, grazing, wildlife and family memories while remaining protected from development that could fundamentally change the landscape.
Ute Ranch joins wider Colorado conservation effort
Ute Ranch is part of a broader effort to conserve privately owned agricultural and natural lands across Colorado. The Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust was established in 1995 and says it has worked with more than 400 families to conserve more than 810,000 acres of Colorado farmland, ranchland, open space and wildlife habitat. The Ute Ranch project demonstrates how conservation easements can allow private landowners to retain ownership and continue ranching while permanently protecting important landscapes. In this case, the result is a combination of family history, agriculture, water and wildlife conservation on a property that has remained connected to one family for more than 90 years.