The Carpenter Front Range Ranch conservation easement conserves a diverse ecological landscape in the foothills of Northern Colorado.

For Immediate Release

Media Inquiries: Karina Puikkonen, karina@ccalt.org, 720.557.8277

December 22, 2023
Revised: January 2, 2024

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Today, the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT) announced the completion of a new 682-acre conservation easement with the Carpenter family on the Carpenter Front Range Ranch in Larimer County. This newly conserved property adds to a larger network of state, federal, and privately conserved and protected lands in the Northern Colorado foothills.

The Carpenter Front Range Ranch is located 20 miles north of Fort Collins in the Livermore Valley and is part of a larger Laramie Foothills Conservation Area and Mountain to Plains conservation corridor. At the mouth of Phantom Canyon, the property includes a section of the North Fork of the Cache La Poudre River and water rights from the North Poudre Canal, protecting agricultural irrigation and critical riparian habitat. Several additional tracts of protected land in proximity include private conservation easements, State Wildlife Areas, U.S. Forest Service land, Bureau of Land Management land, Larimer County Open Space, and The Nature Conservancy’s Phantom Canyon Preserve. This project also supports CCALT’s conservation goals in Larimer County where it has helped to conserve over 3,000 acres.

“The protection of this property achieves so many positive outcomes—sustaining agricultural production and associated water rights, conserving important wildlife habitat in perpetuity, and maintaining the beauty of the Livermore Valley,” stated Brendan Boepple, CCALT’s Director of Additive Conservation. “Without the Carpenter’s unyielding commitment to conservation all of these values would have been threatened by the increasing development along the Front Range.”

The Carpenter family’s choice to pursue a conservation easement now preserves the ability for the ranch to remain agriculturally productive while also preserving the recreational values, open space character, wildlife habitat, and scenic qualities of the property. The Carpenter Front Range Ranch was traditionally used for agriculture, with a homestead cabin still in place on the property. On the walls of Phantom Canyon, evidence of the historical flume and infrastructure from the early days of the North Poudre Irrigation Company can still be found. The Carpenters plan to improve their unique songbird habitat by restoring native plant communities and grasslands, as well as the riparian wetlands along the North Fork of the Cache La Poudre River.

“Our goal from the start was to preserve forever this beautiful and unique property for agriculture, beautiful scenery and biodiversity,” said Jim Carpenter. “With the help of The Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust, this goal is now a reality.”

The Colorado State Wildlife Action Plan has identified several high-priority species and habitats the ranch includes among its diverse cliffs and canyons, mixed-grass prairies, and riparian woodlands and shrublands. The Carpenter Front Range Ranch provides significant natural habitat for fish, wildlife, and plants and is an excellent example of privately conserved lands that contribute to the ecological viability of Larimer County.

This project was supported by Larimer County Department of Natural Resources through the use of Help Preserve Open Spaces Sales Tax dollars.

Correction Jan. 2, 2024. Mr. Carpenter’s name is Jim.

About the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust
Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT) is a nonprofit land conservation organization whose mission is to “…conserve Colorado’s western heritage and working landscapes for the benefit of future generations.” CCALT has worked with hundreds of ranch and farm families to conserve more than 770,000 acres statewide to date.

About the Larimer County Department of Natural Resources
The Larimer County Department of Natural Resources’ mission is to connect people, nature, and place.  Since 1954, Larimer County has acquired and conserved a vast network of public and private lands. In 1995 (and with extensions in 1999 and 2014), the citizens of Larimer County voted overwhelmingly to support a 1/4-cent sales and use tax to conserve and maintain open spaces, natural areas, rivers, wildlife habitat, parks and trails. Since the initial passage of the tax, Larimer County has successfully conserved over 55,000 acres of land throughout the county.