By Shannon Lukens. Courtesy photo of Fish & Cross Ranch
Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT) has announced two conservation easement closings. One is 2,348 acres on the Fish & Cross Ranch west of Yampa, with the Snyder Family. It’s known as the “Gateway to the Flattops.”
The second is a partnership with the Routt County Purchase of Development Rights Program and landowner Susan Larson to conserve 120 acres of Wild Goose Ranch in Steamboat Springs.
Press Release on each property from Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT); Oct. 1, 2025.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Working Lands Conservation in Routt County Continues to Expand With Fish & Cross Ranch Conservation
Easement Summary: The Snyder family received support from the Routt County Purchase of Development Rights Program and the USDA’s Agricultural Conservation Easement Program to expand their conservation efforts in the County.
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. – The Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT) announces the completion of a new 2,348-acre conservation easement with the Snyder family on Fish & Cross Ranch near Yampa. The ranch is in an area known as “The Gateway to the Flattops,” where landscape-level conservation investments through Routt County’s Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) Program have created a stronghold of interconnected agricultural lands and habitat corridors.
This new conservation easement adds to Routt County’s commitment to conserve working landscape and allows the Snyder family to continue taking care of these agricultural lands and wildlife habitat.
“Megan Knott (CCALT Senior Director of Stewardship) and I are happy to have worked with the Snyders to conserve another piece of their spectacular multigenerational ranch,” said CCALT Conservation Manager Monica Shields. “Their commitment to agricultural conservation will carry on to future generations of their family and continue to support the rural economy in South Routt County. As was evident this summer, agricultural lands not only provide important wildlife habitat and scenic views, but the hay meadows and wetlands act as critical wildfire breaks during times of drought. The Fish and Cross Ranch, nestled up against the Flat Tops Wilderness area, serves all these critical community functions.”
“This property links together U.S. Forest Service, BLM and State lands, as well as existing conservation easements, to form a pristine tract that protects views and critical wildlife corridors,” said Routt County Commissioner Tim Redmond. “It is gratifying to know this landscape will be preserved in perpetuity. Thank you.”
Fish & Cross Ranch lies just west of the town of Yampa. The lands within the conservation easement include sagebrush rangelands, aspen woodlands and irrigated pastures with senior water rights along Watson Creek forever tied to those lands through the conservation easement. The property is utilized as part of a larger cattle and hay operation the Snyders run in the area and as natural habitat with a variety of vegetation. Patriarch Allen Snyder and his family purchased the ranch in 2006, and four generations currently live and work on the ranch.
The conservation easement helps to ensure the Snyder family can continue stewarding the property for generations.
“We would like to thank everyone who helped make this easement possible — from the PDR Board and County Commissioners to the CCALT team and NRCS,” said Tyler Snyder. “We are very blessed to be able to take a step forward in continuing to pass down the generational legacy of ranching in the Yampa Valley to generations to come.”
The Snyder family participated in conservation measures prior to this easement. In the past, they utilized conservation easements to conserve other portions of the Fish & Cross Ranch and also purchased conserved acreage nearby for which CCALT holds easements. Fish & Cross Ranch also shares boundaries with U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and State lands and other privately conserved lands over which CCALT holds conservation easements, including another 8,750 acres of conserved lands within five miles of the ranch. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provided funding support through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program to uphold the important agricultural and conservation values the property offers.
“NRCS Colorado is excited to have played a part in conserving this historic family ranch to protect it for agricultural use by future generations,” said NRCS State Conservationist Clint Evans. “We are proud to have partnered with the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust and the Snyder Family to secure the conservation easement.”
Taken together, these successful conservation efforts play a vital role in Routt County’s agricultural economy, which includes a total of more than 83,000 acres of active working land CCALT and its landowner-partners have conserved across the county. This additional conservation easement on Fish & Cross Ranch is an important piece that expands the area’s conservation ethic and supports the County’s thriving agricultural industry and community.
Transaction cost assistance for this project was provided by The Nature Conservancy and Colorado Parks & Wildlife’s Upper Yampa River Habitat Partnership Program Committee.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Larson Family Partners with CCALT and Routt County PDR Program to Conserve Wild Goose Ranch
Steamboat Springs, Colo. – The Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT) is proud to partner with the Routt County Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) Program and landowner Susan Larson to conserve 120 acres of Wild Goose Ranch, which is located in Steamboat Springs. The easement secures irrigated hay meadows and riparian habitat and fulfills the conservation vision of Susan and her late husband, Jim Larson. This effort ensures the long-term viability of the ranch’s agricultural operations and carries forward the Larson family’s commitment to the land and water of this Colorado ranch.
“As you drive down Highway 40 into Steamboat Springs, Wild Goose Ranch comes into plain sight,” said CCALT Conservation Manager Monica Shields. “The irrigated hay meadows will not only continue to provide scenic views, but the conservation of this ranch will permanently secure important water rights that will allow future generations of ranchers and farmers to continue to steward the land. It has been a privilege to work with Susan to conserve her beautiful ranch, and we are extremely thankful for the support the Routt County PDR Program has provided for this project.”
The Wild Goose Ranch is comprised primarily of irrigated hay meadows, with 92% of the easement area in active hay production. Historically, the land supported both haying and livestock grazing, and today it remains leased to a local agricultural producer. Several water rights associated with the hay meadow irrigation will be tied to the easement, supporting both agricultural production and riparian ecosystems.
“Since our arrival in the Yampa Valley full time, our family has always felt a duty to protect the land and the water, especially here in the South Valley,” said Susan Larson. “We have felt even more strongly about this responsibility, with all the growth that has occurred in the last several years all over Colorado, and notably here in Routt County. Jim and I always knew that this is a critical value and vision that our children and grandchildren will surely continue to support.”
The conservation of the Wild Goose Ranch is critical for maintaining the agricultural productivity of this Routt County working landscape, particularly as expansion from Steamboat Springs continues to increase development pressure. In addition, its protection safeguards valuable wildlife habitat for elk, mule deer, moose, black bear and species of special concern like the Columbian sharp-tailed grouse and greater sandhill crane, while also securing scenic views along Colorado State Highway 131 and Highway 40. The property lies adjacent to existing CCALT easements and within close proximity to publicly managedlands, including Colorado Parks and Wildlife properties, Routt National Forest and Bureau of Land Management lands.
This conservation achievement was made possible through funding from the Routt County PDR Program, which continues to expand its portfolio of conserved ranches through its ongoing partnership with CCALT. CCALT is grateful for the collaboration and partnership that enables the conservation of these working lands.
“We are proud to support the permanent conservation of the Wild Goose Ranch through the Routt County Purchase of Development Rights Program,” said Routt County Commissioner Sonja Macys. “Nestled in the highly scenic South Valley floor corridor, the ranch is a vital part of the iconic landscape of working agriculture and conserved lands that residents and visitors alike enjoy when descending Rabbit Ears Pass. This conservation easement not only safeguards a beloved agricultural and scenic landscape, it also plays a critical role in protecting vital wildlife habitat and increasingly important water rights. We are deeply grateful to the property owners, as well as the many agencies and organizations who partnered in this effort, for their commitment to permanent land stewardship and the long-term preservation of Routt County’s natural and cultural heritage.”
The success of this project also reflects the dedication of landowners like Susan Larson, whose willingness to conserve Colorado’s working lands and waters ensures the continued vitality of the region’s working lands, wildlife habitat and scenic character for generations to come.
Working in partnership with landowners, CCALT has now conserved more than 820,000 acres of farmland, ranchland, wildlife habitat and open space across Colorado, including more than 83,000 acres in Routt County.
About the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust
The mission of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust is to conserve Colorado’s Western heritage and working landscapes for the benefit of future generations. Since 1995, CCALT has partnered with more than 400 families to conserve more than 820,000 acres of Colorado farmland, ranchland, open space and wildlife habitat.
About the Routt County Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) Program
The Routt County PDR Program is a land protection tool in which a property’s development rights are purchased from willing landowners. Funding for the PDR Program is derived from a 1.5 mill levy in County property tax approved by voters through 2035. In exchange for County funds, the landowner grants a perpetual conservation easement, or deed restriction on the property, thereby permanently protecting the land from development. The PDR Program provides landowners an economically attractive alternative to selling land for development by compensating them for the development rights on their land. Ownership of the property remains vested with the landowner, who can use and manage the property consistent with the terms of the conservation easement. Since the initiation of the PDR Program in 1997, the County has helped fund the purchase of conservation easements on 68,535 acres, at a cost just over $32 million.