MALT Celebrates Winter Solstice with 86 Acre Conservation Easement
Mountain Area Land Trust (MALT) is pleased to announce the completion of a private voluntary Conservation Easement of 86 acres along Sacramento Creek in Park County, Colorado. This brings the total acreage conserved by MALT in the Sacramento Creek region to 441 acres!
This biologically significant area serves as a:
- winter range for elk;
- habitat for the federally-threatened Canada Lynx;
- summer retreat for black bear;
- foraging grounds for moose;
- sanctuary for Colorado endangered Boreal toad;
- peaceful retreat for domestic horses;
- home to landowners Keith and Cindy Birchler.
Sacramento Creek has been the Birchlers home for nearly 30 years.
“We wish to protect the wildlife corridor that exists from the U.S. Forest Service land that is one-mile to our west, to the watering hole on Sacramento Creek, to the grazing grasslands on our property. We love this land and have chosen to put all 86 acres under a Conservation Easement to protect it in perpetuity,” say the Birchlers.
This property has a variety of natural habitats including coniferous forest, quaking aspen, natural grasslands and riparian habitats along Sacramento Creek – a perfect refuge for wildlife. It is located near MALT-owned Sacramento Creek Ranch, adjacent to five other private voluntary Conservation Easements managed by MALT, is within the Redhill to Hoosier Pass Priority Area and near land managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.
“We applaud the Birchlers and their neighbors for taking great strides to protect land and water throughout the Sacramento Creek area. Thanks to this collective effort, this region will be forever protected. This is a win for land, water, wildlife and the people that live and recreate here. We continue to seek and partner with other landowners that desire to save the land and leave a legacy,” shares MALT Executive Director Jeanne Beaudry.
MALT thanks Keep it Colorado and Park County Land and Water Trust Fund for transaction cost assistance.
