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o lJl17 0 . Executive Summary Catde tanching has throughout history been the heart and soul-and the economic mainseay-of the American'West. Today, however, tanching in the Rocky Mountains is being transfotmed ftom a commercial activity into' a lifestyle Ot pastime; a mete backdrop fOt outdoor tecteation and the development that has followed it into the scenic valleys and foothills. Yet, catde raising in the 32 counties comprising Colotado's mountain'tegion seill contributes one-eighth of the seate's total agricultural output' and employs one OUt of five agricultural wotkers in the state: And 'ptecisely because it is an activity that leaves the scenic landscape relatively unrouched, the economic and social importance of ranching ro the state, its people. and its many visirors, goes well beyond the production of beef But this is all in jeopardy. In Colorado and elsewhete in the Rocky Mountain tegion, highly luctative second homes, ski tesorts and other recteational developments, and so-called "ranchettes" ate competing for the land that traditionally has suppotted commetcial tan ching. The prices rhat developers and newcomers are willing ro 'pay exceed the agricultut:lI production value of the land by 30 to 100 times. This outcome is not metely a function of the free matket atwork. Powetful demographic forces and rising public demand fot recreation underlie the region's transformation. Yet government policy decisions have a pervasive influence on the. market for land, and theteby also contribute ro the proliferation of rural sptawl and ro the decline of commercial ranching. This conclusion is based on a seudy of policies affecting land use patterns in two fairly typical Colorado counties, Routt and Gunnison, conducted by Colotado Srate Universicy economises. More specifically- . Private valley lands near ski resorts are prized as non-commercial ranchettes. The market price is porentially well above the $2,500 per acre paid fOt large ranches. lr is this vittually unconstrained matket pressure, encouraging the sale of working ranches ro absentee owners, that is seen as .the principal threat to the ongoing viability of the traditional ranching communities. . . Ironically, it is the presence of adjoining public lands-very scenic, but not as agticulturally productive-that dtives up the price of ptivate, valley-floor land fot tesidential and recteational ranch use by guaranteeing that open space, wildlife habitat and other amenity values will be preserved. . Colorado's land use policies generally facilitate recreational development by minimizing the holding coses of land specularors and by making it possible ro subdivide land into parcels larget than 35 acres vittually without review or apptoval by any government body. . The most significant counterweight ro policies that facilitate rutal sprawl in Colorado's mountain valleys is the conservation easement acquisition.ptogram of Gteat Outdoors Colorado (GOCO). It offers the only financially attractive alternative 'to the sale of ranches for non-commercial purposes, hut must be expanded co realize its full potential. . With development pressures threatening the future of commercial ranching in rhe county. leaders and citizens of Routt County came together in a consensus-building process to prepare an open space ptotection plan using voluntary conservation easements and other innovacive strategies [0 protect a core of ranchland. This could become a model for broader efforts to main tain ranching in the Rockies. To lend futther perspective on our research, we asked a group of local public and private secror leaders ro review our draft repott and ro come together ro discuss its contents and implications. Generally, they pointed ro the absence of a political consensus as the biggese obstacle ro significant reform of the ground rules for development in Colorado. Yer there was broad agreement that, while such a consensus is bc:ing built. there is a need to take action immediately if . 2