Buena Vista, CO – Today, Central Colorado Conservancy announced its completion of a conservation easement on the Frenchman’s Creek Ranch. The agreement permanently protects the 447-acre ranch along US Highway 24, roughly seven miles north of Buena Vista.
Frenchman’s Creek Ranch is a regionally important and agriculturally productive property that includes irrigated and rangeland pastures, and significant agricultural water rights that are now tied to the land through the conservation easement. The ranch is owned and operated by Belinda and Todd Tipton, who grow hay and raise Highland cattle, pigs, sheep, chickens and turkeys.
“We are thrilled with the completion of the Frenchman’s Creek Ranch conservation easement. The ranch is extremely important to our local agricultural heritage. It is incredibly scenic with views of the Collegiate Peaks and Arkansas River Valley and is critically important for wildlife,” said Wendy McDermott, executive director for Central Colorado Conservancy. “Conservation easements are one of our main tools for protecting wide open vistas and wildlife habitat and for keeping working lands working. We are grateful that the Tiptons chose to conserve their ranch in partnership with Central Colorado Conservancy.”
Todd and Belinda Tipton stated, “Placing our historic ranch in a conservation easement is one of the most meaningful decisions our family has ever made. This land shaped who we are and holds our history along with the history of those who came before us. By protecting it we are honoring a legacy and making a lasting commitment to the future. We want the ranch to remain what it has always been. We are proud to know the fields will remain open and undeveloped and the character of this place will endure long after we are gone. It is important to us that future generations will be able to experience what makes this ranch and this valley so special. Thank you to Central Colorado Conservancy for their support and guidance through this process.”
Frenchman’s Creek Ranch hosts a diversity of land cover types ranging from grassland to wet meadow and pinyon-juniper woodland to shrub land. Within these community types there are freshwater emergent and forested/shrub wetlands, riverine wetlands and freshwater ponds. The ranch supports a multitude of wildlife species. It encompasses migration corridors for bighorn sheep, elk, mule deer, and pronghorn as well as critical wintering habitat. Black bear, mountain lion, moose and migratory birds are also known to make appearances.
The Arkansas River flows through the ranch as does Frenchman’s Creek, named after Francois “Frank” Mayol who was born in France in 1830, moved to New York State in 1854, and settled on the site of Frenchman’s Creek Ranch in 1863. His ranch was one of the first in the valley, here before Colorado became a state and before the railroad was put in place. He originally came to Colorado to prospect but decided to use the skills he had learned on his family farm in France. Frank grew potatoes as his first crop that he was said to have sold for fifty cents a pound to the miners at Cache Creek. He earned enough to bring his two brothers and a cousin from France to help him on the ranch. Later he grew other crops like turnips and hay and raised cows and pigs, all of which he sold to the prospectors.
Today, travelers along Highway 24 enjoy the open space and scenery the ranch offers. The Tiptons have a rental guest cabin and campsites and allow birding and other recreational opportunities on the property. Whitewater enthusiasts who run the Numbers section of the Arkansas River boat through a section of the Frenchman’s Creek Ranch.
Transaction costs related to the Frenchman’s Creek Ranch conservation easement project were provided in part by the Chaffee Common Ground Fund and Keep It Colorado’s Transaction Cost Assistance Program.
Chaffee County Commissioner Gina Lucrezi stated, “Central Colorado Conservancy’s leadership in protecting working lands is a vital asset to our county. This project is a strong example of how Chaffee County’s Common Ground dollars are making a meaningful impact. By securing 447 acres along with associated water rights, this effort preserves an important wildlife corridor and safeguards critical agricultural resources. It also reflects a broader strategy: leveraging Common Ground funds to achieve permanent protection of open space across the county. These investments help ensure that one of Chaffee County’s most valuable assets—its agricultural lands—remains intact for future generations.”
“Conserving the Frenchman’s Creek Ranch is an incredible accomplishment that benefits wildlife habitat, agriculture, river recreation, and landscape connectivity,” said Hannah George, Keep It Colorado’s programs manager. “We’re thrilled to have contributed to the success of this project through our Transaction Cost Assistance Program.”
About Central Colorado Conservancy
Central Colorado Conservancy is a nationally accredited land trust based in Salida, CO. Its mission is to protect the lands, waters and quality of life of Central Colorado as our communities face pressure and rapid growth. Through land easements, restoration efforts and connecting our communities to conservation, Central Colorado Conservancy is leading the charge to preserve the places and quality of life we all love for generations to come. Visit centralcoloradoconservancy.org to learn more.
About Chaffee Common Ground
Chaffee County’s Common Ground Program is a conservation funding program designed to address critical landscape challenges within the community by investing a portion of local sales tax revenues to support forest health, wildfire resilience, sustainable agriculture, and responsible growth management across Chaffee County. Established through voter approval of a 0.25% sales tax increase in 2018, the Common Ground Fund has successfully leveraged local grant-making to bring more than $30 million in value to the community.
About Keep It Colorado
Keep It Colorado serves as a unified voice for conservation organizations focused on private lands conservation, and does so by bringing together land trusts, public agencies and conservation champions around a vision to create a Colorado where people, lands, waters and wildlife thrive. Keep It Colorado advocates for sound public policy; provides connection and collaboration opportunities for conservation partners; offers a forum to address emerging conservation issues and opportunities; pursues sustainable funding and programmatic tools and solutions; and works to advance a culture of conservation in Colorado. Learn more at www.keepitco.org.
