What It Really Means to Protect Land Forever in Southern Colorado

Imagine this moment. You’ve just finished a trail run at Red Rock Canyon. The air has that crisp morning chill. At the base of a sandstone fin, you spot a doe and her still-spotted fawn grazing among the tall grasses. It’s a moment of peace in this hectic life. The moment is fleeting, yet you wish the moment could last a lifetime. It’s easy to assume this experience is timeless, but what does it take to ensure future generations can enjoy the same tranquil scene?

At Palmer Land Conservancy, protecting land and water means ensuring the places that shape the Colorado Good Life remain for generations to come. So your children, and theirs, can experience the same quiet beauty you just did.

Partnering with landowners and communities, we utilize a range of legal tools, including conservation easements, to strategically protect places that are vital to the Colorado we love. A conservation easement is a voluntary, legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust, such as Palmer, that imposes permanent restrictions on the use or development of the land to protect specific conservation values unique to that property. Let’s explore what it means to protect a place forever.

Land for Food and Water for Life: A Legacy That Feeds Us All

Now, imagine that you’re looking over the Lower Arkansas Valley. You notice a ribbon of verdant farmland hugging the river corridor and the irrigation ditch network, yet beyond this thin green corridor, you see short grass prairie for as far as the eye can see. The sun is slowly rising, lighting rows of melons. The hum of an irrigation system plays low in the background. You may not know it, but these lands provide local food and stimulate the rural economy. None of this is possible without water—one of the most sought-after resources in the West. 

The Bessemer Ditch provides ~15,000 acres of prime farmland with water. Without water, this verdant oasis would disappear.

In an era of growing cities seeking reliable water supplies, irrigated farms are often snatched up for their senior water rights. Protection means finding ways to keep water on the most productive farmland so future generations can live, work, and thrive here. 

This year, Palmer Land Conservancy purchased the largest contiguous farm along the Bessemer Irrigation Ditch in Pueblo County to demonstrate an innovative method for permanently protecting some of the best farmland in the county. Once the farmland and water rights are permanently protected, we’ll sell the farm to a local farming family that is currently leasing the land. l This guarantees their fields will always remain farmland. They will never be dried up or sold off for development. Instead, these fields will continue to feed our communities, protect vital water resources, and support the rural economies that keep southern Colorado strong.

Fall Photos from the Bessemer Farm Palmer purchased in 2025.

Land for People: Public Parks, Open Spaces, and Shared Wonder

The sound of snow crunching under your boots fills the crisp air. The Colorado sky stretches overhead, a brilliant shade of blue that feels almost surreal. You catch a glimpse of your dog leaping through the drifts, a bundle of energy with its tail wagging joyfully, embodying pure happiness as their leash tugs you forward.

While most of the land we protect is privately owned, 20 of Palmer’s protected properties are open to the public. Each acre ensures our community has space to breathe, to move, to reconnect with the world beyond our screens.

Behind every quiet sunrise hike and weekend ride is decades of collaboration. Community partnerships, donor support, and Palmer’s commitment to protecting land for you. When we conserve places like these, we’re preserving more than beauty. We’re safeguarding our quality of life.

Picturesque views from a few Palmer-protected properties with public access.

Land for Nature: A Habitat That Thrives

Wind moves softly through the scrub oak at Santa Fe Open Space. A red-tailed hawk glides overhead. Wildflowers bloom in brilliant color as sunlight warms your face.

This 60-acre stretch of foothills is protected forever. The meadows that once housed a corral for the historic ranch will always provide critical habitat for deer, birds, pollinators, and countless unseen species. Beneath the surface, roots stabilize soil and filter water that eventually flows into Monument Creek below the property. 

By conserving lands like Santa Fe Open Space, we not only safeguard vital wildlife habitat, we’re also strengthening the natural systems that sustain all life: clean water, fertile soil, and thriving ecosystems.

Elephant Rock as seen from a trail in the Santa Fe Open Space.

Palmer’s Role: Conservation That Lasts

Since 1977, Palmer Land Conservancy has safeguarded more than 138,000 acres across southern Colorado. This is land that sustains our quality of life. Working with farmers, ranchers, landowners, and local governments, Palmer brings together legal expertise, community trust, and donor-powered resolve to make protection permanent.

Forever isn’t just a word in our mission; it’s a legal and moral commitment backed by decades of stewardship and partnership.

Why Forever Matters

Protecting land forever ensures that future generations will have the same chance we do to feel the wind on our faces, the cool shade of a canyon wall, and the satisfaction of food grown close to home. It means that the landscapes that define southern Colorado—its mountains, grasslands, rivers, and farms—will continue to define us.

Join Our Community of Land Lovers

If you’ve ever found peace in a quiet open space or pride in supporting local agriculture, you are already part of this story. Join our community of Land Lovers and help protect the land, water, and way of life that make southern Colorado home.

When you become a donor, your gift ensures these moments, these views, and these connections to the land endure. Every contribution helps Palmer protect more acres, safeguard more water, and create more places where nature and community can thrive together.