On Wednesday, the Great Outdoors Colorado board awarded a $45,000 grant to Montezuma Land Conservancy to help conserve the 3,054-acre Ivins Ranch in Dolores County through Keep It Colorado.

The grant is part of Keep It Colorado’s Transaction Cost Assistance Program. Through this program, GOCO funds are regranted to nonprofit land trusts and used to help cover the costs of conservation easement transactions.

According to the news release, TCAP enables landowners who have urgent needs to conserve their properties, but face financial barriers to facilitating the transaction. This process helps preserve land more quickly and efficiently.

Ivins Ranch is surrounded by public lands, with McKenna Peak Wilderness Study Area to the west and Lone Cone State Wildlife Area to the east.

“Without this timely conservation effort, this multigenerational working cattle ranch would otherwise be susceptible to development pressure as other nearby properties have been subdivided,” the news release said.

GOCO also noted that conserving Ivins Ranch also protects wildlife habitats for animals. Some of the quality habitat that will be saved includes elk calving ground, elk winter range and two seasonal streams.

“This is particularly important as Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff have observed steady declines in local elk herds over the last few years from human impacts and climate change. Conserving this landscape simultaneously supports the future for wildlife and working lands,” the news release added.

“This project represents a substantial addition to conservation efforts in the region and an ongoing commitment by the landowner and their family. The addition of this acreage to nearby conserved properties and public lands will have a significant impact on critical wildlife habitat and supporting multigenerational ranching operations,” said Travis Custer, executive director of Montezuma Land Conservancy. “We are grateful to move forward with the support of Keep It Colorado and Great Outdoors Colorado.”

“With this assistance, GOCO and Keep It Colorado ease the financial burden on landowners who’ve voluntarily chosen to conserve their land, protecting critical landscapes that make Colorado so special,” Linda Lidov, interim executive director of Keep It Colorado said. “We’re grateful to the Ivins family for making the decision to protect this land for generations to come.”

The news release also noted that to date, GOCO has invested more than $9.9 million in projects in Dolores County and partnered to conserve more than 29,400 acres of land there. GOCO funding supported the McPhee Overlook Trail, Geyser Spring Trail and operations at Lone Mesa State Park.