Centerville Ranch has new 25K donor match program
Campaign to Preserve Centerville Ranch Announces 25K Match Challenge
Upper Arkansas Valley – [June 14, 2019]
In a move that will significantly reinforce fundraising efforts for the Campaign to Preserve Centerville Ranch, local donors have come forward with a dollar-for-dollar Keep It Country Challenge, in which any amount up to $25,000 donated through August 1 will be matched.
In its efforts to secure a conservation easement for 650 acres of the property just south of Nathrop on Highway 285, Central Colorado Conservancy is in the process of raising $100,000 in community support with a deadline of August 1. Donations have been going well since the campaign began in March, and the recent offer by Pam and Don Dubin, along with an anonymous donor, represent a substantial step forward.
"The Conservancy is grateful we could come to an arrangement with the owner of Centerville Ranch that addressed the concerns of the public and keeps this property in working agriculture, protects the scenic views and helps wildlife,” said Executive Director Andrew Mackie. “Our three matching donors are making an amazing show of support for what we hold dear in Chaffee County."
Centerville Ranch was the focus of public concern in early 2019, when developer Jeff Ince announced plans for a subdivision that contained more than 200 homes. Central Colorado Conservancy worked with Ince to establish plans for a conservation easement on almost 75 percent of the property, allowing for a much smaller housing component. While the developer agreed to donate roughly half the value of the development and other rights, the Conservancy now needs to raise $1.3 million.
The $100,000 in community-member donations is a critical first step, as many organizations that fund projects such as Centerville Ranch require a local funding commitment from individuals and businesses to establish the validity of the project.
Centerville Ranch is considered an important component of Chaffee County’s ranch landscape, hosting a view corridor that stretches from Highway 285 on the Collegiate Peaks Scenic Byway, across green hay meadows to Browns Canyon National Monument and the Arkansas River. It contains a wetland with multiple springs that provide considerable wildlife habitat, and the land is part of a regionally important deer and elk migration corridor.
The conservation easement, once established, will forever protect the 650 acres and support local agriculture by maintaining 400 acres of irrigated hay meadows. As well, it will keep the ranch’s three water rights intact so that local waters stay in the area.
"I hope the community will realize what a special opportunity we have to protect this property,” Mackie added. “And keep the heart of the County for all these special values, important to all of us that live here. I am encouraging the community to step up to this amazing challenge set by these donors so the Conservancy can get this project done!"
To participate in the Centerville Ranch Keep It Country Challenge, contact Central Colorado Conservancy at [email protected] or call (719) 539-7700. Online donations can be made at centralcoloradoconservancy.org.
For more information about the Central Colorado Conservancy and how to become a member, please visit www.centralcoloradoconservancy.org or call (719) 539-7700.