Niccoli Ranch

Beginning in 2000 and ending in 2007, 1% for Open Space granted the Crested Butte Land Trust and the Gunnison Ranchland Conservation Legacy a total of $200,000 for the purchase of a conservation easement on 183 acres of the Niccoli Family Ranch. The Niccoli Ranch is located approximately six miles south of Crested Butte on Highway 135. The ranch is split by the highway where 146 acres lie to the west side. A conservation easement was placed on this part of Niccoli Ranch in 2000 by the Gunnison Ranchland Conservation Legacy. The other 37 acres are on the east side of the highway and were given a conservation easement in 2006 by the Crested Butte Land Trust.

1% for Open Space gave this project a large grant because of its location, wildlife habitat and its importance in the ranching heritage of our valley. The ranch has been family run for over 100 years and keeping that land open for agricultural use is important both for our valley’s ranching heritage and for the wildlife corridor it helps create. The Niccoli Ranch is home to many species including many different kinds of birds. It is part of an elk and deer migration corridor and it is adjacent to National Forest and other ranches that are already protected with conservation easements helping to create a uninterrupted open space viewshed.