In a series of meetings in May and June, San Isabel brought together a diverse group of community leaders from Cañon City and eastern Fremont County – part of our four-county service area – to find out how San Isabel can help them meet community goals and connect people to the land, to each other and to San Isabel’s mission. The idea is to draw on the land trust’s knowledge, skills and resources to help meet community challenges.
San Isabel holds 25 conservation easements in Fremont County, permanently protecting 5,849 acres. By 2025, the land trust hopes to protect an additional 10,000 acres of priority conservation land in the county, permanently tying significant water rights to the land for agricultural use and supporting the community’s goals for parks and trails.
“By listening and being responsive, we hope to help residents make Fremont County an even better place to live, while building broad and deep support for San Isabel,” said Ben Lenth, San Isabel’s executive director.
Through the process, San Isabel identified challenges facing recreation, business and landowners in eastern Fremont County and identified key groups to work with on these challenges. These groups include outdoor outfitters, recreation nonprofits and Realtors – all of whom have vested interests in land preservation and can make natural partners.
San Isabel hopes to use what we’ve learned through this process and what we’ll learn in the months ahead to make conservatio more relevant and real to a greater number of people. Only by doing so can we fulfill our land conservation mission in Fremont County and beyond.
