Dawn Reeder

Nestled between the Raggeds Wilderness and the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness lies the North Pole Basin—a place with lush spruce forests, incredible cascading waterfalls, and 360-degree views of some of Colorado’s famous fourteeners. The Crested Butte Land Trust is under a bargain-sale contract to purchase this 158- acre placer mining claim in the High Elk Corridor, near the ghost town of Schofield.

The High Elk Corridor’s beauty is an open secret that brings thousands of nature enthusiasts each summer to its trail, crystal clear streams, and alpine meadows blanketed with wildflowers. While this high altitude valley provides access to some of the state’s most majestic mountain wilderness, there are almost 100 privately owned inholdings. Thus, this valley system, though flanked by two federal protected wilderness areas, has incomplete protection itself.

Katie Onheiber

Discover the North Pole Basin yourself. The construction of a hiking trail will provide public access through the property, access that was previously denied.

Thanks to individuals like you who supported these efforts, we’ve already raised more than $1.8 million for this project. We need your help now to raise the remaining $95,000! If funds are not raised, the property will be listed for sale and potential subdivision in the summer of 2013.

Secured Grant Funds: $700,000 – Great Outdoors Colorado $200,000 – Gunnison County Land Preservation Board   $78,000 – 1% for Open Space   $75,000 – Gates Family Foundation Secured Individual Donations: $562,000 – Landowner donation (Crested Butte Mountain Resort) $267,000 – Individual contributions   $10,000 – Private Family Foundation

The property was appraised at $1,902,000. The landowner, Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR), generously agreed to a 30% bargain sale component, reducing the project cost by $562,000.

Because the North Pole Basin is situated between two wilderness areas, it creates an ecological bridge for wildlife with large roaming ranges, like black bear, mountain lion, and lynx. Conservation will provide an opportunity for Rocky Mountain Biological Lab (RMBL) scientists to observe and study this distinct piece of land. At closing, the Land Trust will hold a conservation easement on the property, while conveying the land to RMBL.

This project is a natural extension of more than four decades of land conservation in the region and will protect one of the critical remaining pieces. In the late 1960s, RMBL and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) worked together to purchase the Mexican Cut Preserve, a 300-acre project that was TNC’S first in the state of Colorado.

In the mid-1990s, the Crested Butte Land Trust, RMBL and CBMR partnered to purchase half of the townsite of Schofield. Following on this success, with a $20,000 planning grant from Great Outdoors Colorado in 2000, the Crested Butte Land Trust partnered with the Trust for Public Land (TPL) to create a “greenprint” of the area, called the “High Elk Corridor”, identifying critical inholdings. TPL conducted a detailed spatial analysis to prioritize properties for protection. The North Pole Basin was identified as one of the highest priorities for protection.

To learn more about the North Pole Basin or to make a donation, please contact Ann Johnston at 970.349.1206, or director@cblandtrust.org.

Dawn Reeder

Katie Onheiber

Fish the fabled riffles of the Rocky Mountain rivers for the largest brown trout, largest rainbow trout, and most aggregate inches at the 12th annual Caddis Cup Fly Fishing Tournament on Friday, July 12th & Saturday, July 13th.

The tournament is a great opportunity for camaraderie in a setting where anglers can sharpen and refine their skills. Each participant is accompanied by a knowledgeable guide to provide a rewarding and challenging experience.

Tournament registration is $600 and includes Kick-off Dinner & Auction, full day of guided fishing, boxed lunch, fishing shirt, goodie bag, and awards party.

Interested in attending the Kick-off Dinner, but don’t want to fish? Join us for an intimate evening at Cement Creek Ranch – set in a breathtaking valley, completely surrounded by the 1.7 million acre Gunnison National Forest. Learn what the Land Trust is up to, bid on some great auction items, and delight in a BBQ style feast. Kick-off Dinner registration is $75 for non-anglers (excludes family members of anglers).

Help save the local lands and fresh waters you love!

Questions? Please contact Outreach Coordinator, Katie Onheiber, at 970-349-1206 or outreach@cblandtrust.org.

Honeybees are true workhorses of our agricultural system, responsible for pollinating more than one-third of all crops grown in the U.S. The Land Trust is partnering with Mountain Roots and several landowners in Gunnison County to establish a number of beehives, helping to preserve our community’s agricultural heritage. New colonies will aid in the pollination of native plants in the Valley, while also producing honey to be shared locally.

This project will provide a safe-haven for the honey bee, distanced from pollution, genetically modified crops, and other environmental stressors.

Local woodworkers are currently constructing the hives. Once finished, we’ll be conducting a series of community workshops for kids and adults—check back for updates on this buzzworthy project!

Dawn Reeder

Our country’s national bird and the threatened Gunnison sage-grouse now have additional protected foraging and nesting grounds. These iconic birds face several challenges due to loss of habitat and growing development.

Landowner Zeta Graham is taking action to conserve her 184-acre property, providing critical habitat not only for bald eagles and Gunnison sage-grouse, but also for a variety of other avian, mule deer, antelope, coyote, and several small mammals.

The Graham family generously donated a conservation easement on this important piece of land. Skimming the southwest border of Gunnison, near Hartman Rocks Recreation Area, the property also boasts significant historical value for the Graham family. Homesteaded in the late 1880s, the land was once part of Zeta’s grandfather’s ranch, and has remained in the family since then.

Dawn Reeder

Zeta’s sons, Don and Kevin, will continue to enjoy and manage the property—maintaining the ditches and historic irrigation patterns, as they have since they were young.

The sage brush, wet meadow and irrigated land will prevent further wildlife habitat fragmentation. “I have spent so many years watching the wildlife using our property,” says Don. “I’m really pleased that my family will be able to ensure that the sage-grouse, antelope, and mule deer will always have a safe place to forage.”

Dawn Reeder

The North Pole Basin is one step closer to becoming saved for public access and scientific research. On Dec. 11, the Crested Butte Land Trust received a Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) grant, providing $700,000 in lottery funds for the purchase of the property.

The Land Trust was thrilled that the North Pole Basin project drew top honors in a very competitive round—a tribute to the project’s importance. GOCO awards grants twice annually via multiple grant programs, including a program for open space projects, which are designed to address the state’s conservation challenges by helping to protect land along river corridors, urban parcels, agricultural lands and wildlife habitat.

The Land Trust, in partnership with Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR), and the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL), began an initiative to conserve the North Pole Basin last spring. CBMR has agreed to sell the property at 30% below the appraised value. RMBL and the Land Trust are working to raise the remaining $400,000 needed to secure the North Pole Basin.

Long owned by CBMR, the North Pole Basin is approximately 160 acres in size and is located just west of Schofield Pass. The property boasts incredible views of Colorado’s famous fourteeners. The North Pole Creek, a vital water source for recharging ground water supplies, cascades through the property, and provides life sustaining habitat for flora and fauna.

Dawn Reeder

Preservation of the North Pole Basin complements the Land Trust’s efforts in and around Schofield, creating a wildlife corridor and expanding research opportunities for RMBL. A hiking trail will provide public access on an incredibly unique piece of land. “Opening up the area to hiking will be a real gift to the community,” says Ann Johnston, Executive Director of the Land Trust. “We’ve enjoyed exploring the landscape, which offers a number of habitats key for wildlife.”

For more information or to contribute to this important project, please contact Ann at 970.349.1206 or director@cblandtrust.org.

GOCO is the result of an initiative passed by voters in 1992. As the recipient of approximately half of Colorado Lottery proceeds, $57 million in Fiscal Year 2012, GOCO awards grants to local governments and land trusts, and makes investments through the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife. Since 1994, nearly 3,500 projects in all of the state’s 64 counties have benefited from GOCO funding. For more information about GOCO, visit www.goco.org.

Photo by Rebecca Ofstedahl

Mary Baskin is grateful for the abundance of trails in the Gunnison Valley. The community’s great network of trails even inspired Mary to write a trail book, “Enjoying Crested Butte the Easy Way”.

Mary was drawn to Crested Butte, not only for the trails, but for the small town feel, spectacular majesty, wildflowers, great skiing, restaurants and wonderful summer weather… to name a few!

“I absolutely LOVE CRESTED BUTTE just the way it is,” says Mary. “I think that (the Land Trust) is doing the most to keep it that way.”

Mary is one of thousands of folks who united on Tuesday, December 4 for the annual Colorado Gives Day. Together, these people broke records, raising a whopping $15 million through 68,000 donations, a 20% increase over last year’s event.

Fourteen generous individuals donated to the Land Trust during the 24-hour period. These conservation leaders helped raise more than $3,000, creating recreational trails where appropriate and providing opportunities for families who want to conserve their land.

Presented by Community First Foundation and FirstBank, 100% of donations made to the Crested Butte Land Trust went to the organization. In addition, the value of each donation was increased by the FirstBank Incentive Fund.

“Once again, Coloradans demonstrate amazing generosity and the passion to ‘Give where you live,’” said Marla J. Williams, president and CEO of Community First Foundation. “I am awed by what happens when the community comes together—because it takes a community-wide effort to create this level of success.”

We would like to thank everyone who donated during Colorado Gives Day. We sincerely appreciate your support.

WHERE YOUR DOLLARS GO

• Protect the North Pole Basin, a 158-acre property rich with biological diversity. You’ll enjoy breathtaking views of Colorado’s majestic fourteeners from a new hiking trail.
• Assist working family ranches so they may conserve their land and retain their Colorado ranching heritage.
• Save an incredibly scenic portion of the Woods Walk Trail which is at risk of becoming fragmented.
• Provide critical improvements to the Perimeter Trail, planned to surround the Town of Crested Butte.

Leanne enrolled in Rocky Mountain Collage of Art and Design in Denver. A design instructor reacquainted Leanne with calligraphy, an art she first learned in junior high. She went on to intern with a renowned calligrapher. “The calligrapher taught me how to grind ink as the first step in the process of scribing which somehow mentally centers one to approach calligraphy with a calmness,” remarks Leanne.

Leanne describes calligraphy in a way that resonates with the numerous skiers in the Valley. “It’s kind of like telemarking—the pressure and release action with the nib creates a rhythm and flow to the letters that is innately pleasing,” says Leanne “…Like dancing on the page with ink. The negative space of the letters is equally important, if not more, to the perfection of the letters. After drawing out so many letters and words on a page, to step back and take in the gestalt of what was just created thrills me.”

With a degree in illustration, Leanne decided to move to Crested Butte, a place her father described as having the best summer days in Colorado. “By his description, Crested Butte sounded tropical compared to Leadville. And, I have to say Crested Butte is tropical compared to Leadville!”

Shortly after arriving, Leanne opened the Rendezvous Gallery and Frame Shop in a place she felt very at home.

“The community is amazing and our landscape is breathtaking.

What else can I say? Crested Butte speaks for itself!”

-Leanne Canty, local artist

Leanne is a sunset seeker and a Rocky Mountain sunset ranks up there with the best of them. “I have bored many a friend by my endless adoration of the spectacular colors and shadows our mountains bless us with especially at sunset,” states Leanne. “Consequently, I am an artist seeking to capture the nuance of those colors on canvas.”

Capturing those colors is in part possible, due to our protected landscapes. Leanne understands the land we have is finite and believes that we, as humans on Earth, are responsible for protecting it.

The Crested Butte Land Trust is pleased to partner with Leanne to present this year’s 2012 holiday ornament. The ornament showcases Leanne’s beautiful calligraphy skills as well as her fine art skills.

“I am so honored to have been chosen for the second time to create the Crested Butte Land Trust’s Holiday ornament,” declares Leanne. “The first time was 2007, when I used John Muir’s quote, ‘Climb the mountains and enjoy their good tidings’ to decorate the ornaments. That quote, as well as this year’s quote on the ornament, “Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads” by Henry David Thoreau, expresses how special the Crested Butte area is. It is my hope that you will enjoy this year’s ornament and in turn help support the Crested Butte Land Trust in preserving our environment.”

To visit the Online Store and to purchase the 2012 holiday ornament, click HERE.

The Gunnison Valley is a remarkable place. We are surrounded by magnificent, iconic views. Our neighbors are Emmons, Baldy, Whetstone, Gothic… massive peaks where we ski, hike, climb and play. From your backdoor, you lace up your boots, hop on your bike, and clip into your skis to venture out on miles of trails that lead you into wilderness.

Our healthy habitat allows elk, deer, black bear, mountain goats, big horn sheep and other wildlife to flourish. And, our rich history of working family ranches provides economic stability and food for our country.

The work of the Land Trust builds community and preserves beauty. And now, after a rigorous application process, we are excited to achieve national accreditation, awarded by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance.

“The Crested Butte Land Trust’s accredited status demonstrates our commitment to permanent land conservation,” says Ann Johnston, Executive Director. “Our land trust is a stronger organization today having gone through the rigorous accreditation program.”

As part of the application process, the Land Trust put on several open houses, encouraging the public to submit confidential comments about its work to the Accreditation Commission. We really appreciate everyone who took the time to make comments. We received overwhelming community support.

The Crested Butte Land Trust joins 180 of the nation’s 1,723 land trusts to be accredited–just 10% of land trusts nationwide.“The accreditation seal lets the public know that the accredited land trust has undergone an extensive, external review of the governance and management of its organization and the systems and policies it uses to protect land,” said Commission Executive Director Tammara Van Ryn.

The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, based in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., awards the accreditation seal to community institutions that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands perpetually. As an accredited land trust, we ensure the remarkable Gunnison Valley that you cherish will be enjoyed by generations not just today, but forever.