The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) named Bob Child and his family “Landowner of the Year” for 2004. Every year since 1982, DOW has recognized a Landowner of the Year for the state of Colorado. The prestigious award is part of the Landowner Recognition Program, which works to enhance communications between landowners, the DOW and sportsmen in order to work toward common goals. Year after year, there are many deserving farmers and ranchers throughout the state who are nominated for the award due to their important contributions to improving wildlife habitat in Colorado. This year two families stand out in particular, Bob Child and family and the runner up, Warren and Gretchen Gore and Don and Shirley Gore.
The Child family was nominated for the award both by the Pitkin County Board of Commissioners and the Western Colorado Agriculture Heritage Fund. The Child family’s efforts to preserve their Capitol Creek Ranch and its diverse wildlife habitats as a biologically significant property, while maintaining its heritage as a working cattle ranch, prompted the nomination.
The Child’s 1,500-acre ranch is a model of balance between conservation, public access and agriculture heritage. Bob and Tee Child purchased the ranch in the early 1960’s and ranched the property quietly until 1969 when their way of life was threatened by a proposal to turn nearby Haystack Mountain into what would have been the Roaring Fork Valley’s fifth and likely largest ski resort. Bob Child lead the battle against the proposal in the local political arena for 10 years until he convinced Congress to designate the public land in question as wilderness.
When the ski area development proposal was withdrawn, the Child family still stood to make tens of millions of dollars by subdividing and selling the property in 50 and 30-acre lots. The Child family chose to take the conservation high road and downzone the vast majority of their property while achieving permanent protection for the wildlife habitat and agricultural heritage of the ranch in through easements.
The Childs have also worked hard to ensure the public has access, not only on the ranch, but also to the neighboring wilderness by establishing a parking and trail easement on their property. Hunters, anglers, hikers horseback riders, cross country skiers, local school children and a variety of other recreational users have all benefited immensely from the Child’s selfless vision of their property, according to the nominating petition.
Use of wildlife-friendly fencing and drop down fencing that allows for deer and elk migration, leaving a second cut of hay and alfalfa in their meadows for wildlife, stocking Colorado River cutthroat, and establishing a naturally-reproducing population at their own expense are just some examples of the Child family’s ranching practices that demonstrate their commitment to the wildlife that inhabits their ranch.
“The Childs have sacrificed and worked tremendously hard to ensure that wildlife has a place on their ranch and in the Roaring Fork Valley,” said Ken Morgan, private lands habitat specialist for the DOW. “They have created an exemplary blend of productive cattle ranching and wildlife conservation while improving their local community by assuring public access for recreation. Both the Roaring Fork Valley and the state of Colorado have benefited due to their efforts.”
The Gore family’s ranch is located on Glade Park in Mesa County. The Gores were nominated for Landowner of the Year by District Wildlife Manager, Shaun Deeney and Tina Scheffer, his fiancée, for their tireless work on managing their 16,000-acre ranch for the benefit of wildlife while at the same time running a successful cattle business.
The Gore family’s contributions to area wildlife include working with the DOW on a seeding project that improved 508 acres of sagebrush, critical for the Gunnison sage grouse. Both Don and Warren contributed two weeks of their time along with the necessary equipment and fuel to complete the project.
The Gore family was also instrumental in a pinyon/juniper manipulation project. The cost share project with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State Forest Service and the DOW helped to eliminate invading pinyon/juniper from nearly 2,500 acres of prime Gunnison sage grouse and big game winter range. The Gore ranch and the family’s cooperation have been critical to the DOW’s Gunnison sage grouse project, Deeney said, allowing the trapping and radio collaring of birds along with the monitoring and data collection necessary to learn about the species that is precariously close to being federally listed as an endangered species. The family has also allowed DOW fisheries staff to sample the upper stretches of Payne Creek where a native strain of Dolores River cutthroat trout is suspected to exist.
The Gore family continues to work on a conservation easement that would protect nearby properties proposed for development and are critical migration corridors for deer and elk. If successful, it would be the largest conservation easement in Mesa County.
The Gore family has also opened their property to the public to enjoy as Ranching for Wildlife participants. They have been praised by public hunters for not only providing outstanding hunts, but also rolling up their sleeves and aiding the participants who hunt on their property every year. Operation Game Thief and Mesa County Crime Stoppers - both programs that work to fight poaching - have received generous donations from the Gore family. The family also participates on the BLM Colorado Canyon’s National Conservation Area Advisory Council, Pinyon Mesa Gunnison’s Sage Grouse Work Group and the Desert Bighorn Sheep Work Group.
“The Gore family has been a tremendous ally for the DOW in our efforts to improve and save habitat in Mesa County,” Morgan said. “Their cooperation has been critical to our efforts with the Gunnison sage grouse and have helped to protect a piece of country that is home to a wide array of Colorado’s wildlife.”
“Both the Child family and the Gore family are deserving of this recognition for their contributions to Colorado’s wildlife. The DOW appreciates their outstanding efforts.”
The Child family was nominated for the award both by the Pitkin County Board of Commissioners and the Western Colorado Agriculture Heritage Fund. The Child family’s efforts to preserve their Capitol Creek Ranch and its diverse wildlife habitats as a biologically significant property, while maintaining its heritage as a working cattle ranch, prompted the nomination.
The Child’s 1,500-acre ranch is a model of balance between conservation, public access and agriculture heritage. Bob and Tee Child purchased the ranch in the early 1960’s and ranched the property quietly until 1969 when their way of life was threatened by a proposal to turn nearby Haystack Mountain into what would have been the Roaring Fork Valley’s fifth and likely largest ski resort. Bob Child lead the battle against the proposal in the local political arena for 10 years until he convinced Congress to designate the public land in question as wilderness.
When the ski area development proposal was withdrawn, the Child family still stood to make tens of millions of dollars by subdividing and selling the property in 50 and 30-acre lots. The Child family chose to take the conservation high road and downzone the vast majority of their property while achieving permanent protection for the wildlife habitat and agricultural heritage of the ranch in through easements.
The Childs have also worked hard to ensure the public has access, not only on the ranch, but also to the neighboring wilderness by establishing a parking and trail easement on their property. Hunters, anglers, hikers horseback riders, cross country skiers, local school children and a variety of other recreational users have all benefited immensely from the Child’s selfless vision of their property, according to the nominating petition.
Use of wildlife-friendly fencing and drop down fencing that allows for deer and elk migration, leaving a second cut of hay and alfalfa in their meadows for wildlife, stocking Colorado River cutthroat, and establishing a naturally-reproducing population at their own expense are just some examples of the Child family’s ranching practices that demonstrate their commitment to the wildlife that inhabits their ranch.
“The Childs have sacrificed and worked tremendously hard to ensure that wildlife has a place on their ranch and in the Roaring Fork Valley,” said Ken Morgan, private lands habitat specialist for the DOW. “They have created an exemplary blend of productive cattle ranching and wildlife conservation while improving their local community by assuring public access for recreation. Both the Roaring Fork Valley and the state of Colorado have benefited due to their efforts.”
The Gore family’s ranch is located on Glade Park in Mesa County. The Gores were nominated for Landowner of the Year by District Wildlife Manager, Shaun Deeney and Tina Scheffer, his fiancée, for their tireless work on managing their 16,000-acre ranch for the benefit of wildlife while at the same time running a successful cattle business.
The Gore family’s contributions to area wildlife include working with the DOW on a seeding project that improved 508 acres of sagebrush, critical for the Gunnison sage grouse. Both Don and Warren contributed two weeks of their time along with the necessary equipment and fuel to complete the project.
The Gore family was also instrumental in a pinyon/juniper manipulation project. The cost share project with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Colorado State Forest Service and the DOW helped to eliminate invading pinyon/juniper from nearly 2,500 acres of prime Gunnison sage grouse and big game winter range. The Gore ranch and the family’s cooperation have been critical to the DOW’s Gunnison sage grouse project, Deeney said, allowing the trapping and radio collaring of birds along with the monitoring and data collection necessary to learn about the species that is precariously close to being federally listed as an endangered species. The family has also allowed DOW fisheries staff to sample the upper stretches of Payne Creek where a native strain of Dolores River cutthroat trout is suspected to exist.
The Gore family continues to work on a conservation easement that would protect nearby properties proposed for development and are critical migration corridors for deer and elk. If successful, it would be the largest conservation easement in Mesa County.
The Gore family has also opened their property to the public to enjoy as Ranching for Wildlife participants. They have been praised by public hunters for not only providing outstanding hunts, but also rolling up their sleeves and aiding the participants who hunt on their property every year. Operation Game Thief and Mesa County Crime Stoppers - both programs that work to fight poaching - have received generous donations from the Gore family. The family also participates on the BLM Colorado Canyon’s National Conservation Area Advisory Council, Pinyon Mesa Gunnison’s Sage Grouse Work Group and the Desert Bighorn Sheep Work Group.
“The Gore family has been a tremendous ally for the DOW in our efforts to improve and save habitat in Mesa County,” Morgan said. “Their cooperation has been critical to our efforts with the Gunnison sage grouse and have helped to protect a piece of country that is home to a wide array of Colorado’s wildlife.”
“Both the Child family and the Gore family are deserving of this recognition for their contributions to Colorado’s wildlife. The DOW appreciates their outstanding efforts.”
