Give back to nature this Colorado Gives Day |
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Don't forget to show your support to EVLT on Colorado Gives Day
Tuesday, December 6
We are currently at 10% of our $55,000 CO Gives Day goal. Will you help us meet it?
Any donations made now through Dec 6, 2022 count towards the Colorado Gives Day Incentive Fund, furthering the chunk of change we receive back! And, a generous local donor has offered to match all donations up to $9,500. Double your gift today!
Photo by EagleValleyWild.org.
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EVLT Board Member Dan Godec named 2022 Vail Valley Volunteers of the Year |
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The Vail Valley is fortunate to have an extremely active nonprofit community. At its core is an extraordinary spirit of volunteerism.
Of the valley’s thousands of volunteers, perhaps none give more, or give more widely, than longtime residents Sue and Dan Godec.
In honor of their steadfast and selfless service to a wide range of programs, nonprofits, and events in the valley, the Vail Valley Foundation announced Friday that Sue and Dan Godec are the recipients of the 2022 Vail Valley Volunteers of the Year award. The award is given out annually to deserving people who have, for many years, contributed volunteer time, leadership, vision, and passion to the entire community.
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Gates Ranch: Conserving a Legacy and a Way of Life |
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For Kip Gates, there has never been a question about what he was meant to do. This fifth-generation rancher, who lives in Eagle County near Burns, was born to be a cowboy. In his day-to-day work running a 1,500-acre ranching operation, Kip is grateful for his ancestors’ work to make the family ranch what it is today. The property is “smack in the middle if you were to draw a triangle between Vail, Steamboat and Aspen,” Kip said. It is beautiful and remote and full of family history.
A window to a family’s history
Kip’s ancestors left Germany in the 1600s and made their way to Colorado in the 1860s. His great-great-grandfather built a stage stop near Steamboat and started trapping, eventually finding and settling on the land where Kip now lives. After the Homestead Act gave the family its first acreage, they dug in, moving tons of rock and creating six miles of irrigation ditches to bring water onto the property. The family’s water rights date to 1905, and those rights have been an integral part of the family’s success.
“Water is white gold. Without the water, you’ll never survive.
— Kip Gates' grandfather
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Landowner: Kip Gates
Partner land trust: Eagle Valley Land Trust
Location: Eagle County near Burns
Topics: Generational land, evolution of agricultural work
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Kip’s ancestors’ rigorous work is part of the legacy he feels compelled to protect and share with others. His way of life is about conservation, so it made sense in 2012 to put the family ranch into a conservation easement that would preserve the land from development or subdivision. Kip loves that he can see his family’s history every time he rides over the property. There are several old homesteads on the property that Kip maintains. “I love what my ancestors built and spend a lot of time keeping up the old homesteads,” he said. |
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Want to learn more about the benefits of conserving your property? |
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A conservation easement is a win-win-win: The land you choose to protect in perpetuity will benefit you and future generations who live and work on it, the wildlife that has habitat on or moves across this land, and Coloradans who value knowing that the landscapes they love will be protected from development.
Should you choose to conserve your property with our help, you will be part of a unique community of people committed to ensuring Colorado stays beautiful, healthy and productive.
Interested in learning more about conservation options on your land? Email us at stewardship@evlt.org.
Photo by EagleValleyWild.org.
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Trust Our Land: The local businesses protecting lands and watersheds |
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It’s been almost five years since Sunrise Minturn, Alpine Quest Sports and Minturn Anglers started contributing on a daily basis to the Land & Rivers Fund, launching the program’s official start. Since then, they and many others have contributed over $583,000 to the Fund.
Why do they do it? From Up the Creek to Ketsol Apparel, businesses contribute to the fund because it directly pays for the protection and stewardship of our local lands, watersheds, wildlife habitats, drinking water, recreational access and open spaces. On top of that, it funds a scholarship for a local high school senior heading toward a career path in environmental science, natural resource management or related fields. Participating businesses understand that protecting the lands and rivers that our community depends on, that our economy depends on, is just good business.
The fund was founded by a partnership between the Eagle Valley Land Trust and the Eagle River Watershed Council in 2018, a joint venture that’s stronger than ever. While each organization focuses on protecting different aspects of our local landscape, their missions are complementary. Plus, they both depend on community support to make their work a reality.
Photo by EagleValleyWild.org.
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Eagle Valley Land Trust | Phone: (970) 748-7654 | Website: www.evlt.org
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