By River Stingray, The Aspen Times
Snowmass Falls Ranch, the largest inholding in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness and the gateway to some of the area’s most coveted recreation and wildlife habitat, was acquired in a historic purchase by Pitkin County, in partnership with The Wilderness Land Trust, to protect it from development.
The 650-acre property sits just outside Snowmass Village, at the foot of the Elk Range, with a majority of the property within the boundaries of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness.
Originally established by Kate Lindvig, known as the “Cattle Queen of Snowmass,” during the original settlement of Aspen, the property was purchased by Pitkin County for $34 million from the previous landowners earlier this year using Open Space Program funds.
“This was a historic purchase for us,” said Dale Will, Acquisition and Special Projects director of Pitkin County Open Space and Trails. “That number is the largest amount we have ever spent on anything … but the property was a holy grail too. I’ve been working for Open Space for 26 years, and it had been weighing heavily on my mind the whole time as a property that needed to be protected.”
Will noted that purchasing the property, which was originally listed at $50 million in 2021 with no conservation easements or deed restrictions, was possible thanks to recently sold bonds and a $10 million loan from the Great Outdoors Colorado trust fund.
Since the purchase, Pitkin County and WLT have been working with the White River National Forest as the agency applies for Land and Water Conservation Funds to transfer property to public ownership as a National Forest, according to WLT Director of Marketing & Communications Margosia Jadkowski.
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