MALT Announces the Conservation of 485 Acres in Park County!
Mountain Area Land Trust (MALT) is pleased to announce the closing of a Conservation Easement on 485 acres in Park County off Highway 285 near the town of Jefferson. A tributary to Michigan Creek and an extremely rich and rare fen are dominant features of the ranch landscape. Fens are peat-forming wetlands and are created when wetland plants die creating mats of dead and decaying plant matter. For this reason fens support a diverse plant and animal community. In southern Colorado, it takes about 2,000 years to accumulate 8 inches of peat at a fen, suggesting that most fens are 4,000 to 10,000 years old. (Source: USDA Forest Service – Rocky Mountain Region)
Restricting future development on the property ensures the iconic views of the mountains to the west. The property is also an important wildlife corridor for pronghorn and elk herds. Recent observations by the landowner and neighbors have documented approximately 800 head of elk grazing the property in the winter and early spring. In addition, the ranch supports moose, bear, mountain lion, mule deer, and wild turkey, all of which prefer large areas with low levels of human occupation.
