The Chaffee County Ranchlands Project will present the results of two 2007 surveys at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 3, at the Chaffee County Fairgrounds in Poncha Springs. All interested members of the public are invited to attend.

The surveys of county residents and visitors were conducted with assistance from Colorado State University to support future land use and management efforts, specifically, to evaluate the contribution of local water quality and ranchlands to residents’ and visitors’ quality of life. Professor Andy Seidl of the CSU Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics will lead the presentation on Friday to explain the survey results, including the determination of exactly how much economic impact the land’s appeal has on our county.

A combined effort of the countywide economic development group Vision 2020 and the Chaffee County Cattlemen’s Association, the Chaffee County Ranchlands Project (CCRP) was formed in October 2005 to aid area ranchers who want to stay in ranching to do just that.

After presentations by Routt County representatives who dealt with similar issues ten years ago, the Ranchlands Project steering committee realized that on an economic level, there was more at stake than the livelihood of ranching families. Production agricultural land protects the scenic vistas that county residents and visitors both enjoy, and that appeal has a substantial economic impact on the county’s tax base. The surveys were conducted to help quantify that economic impact.

The Chaffee County commissioners provided $18,000 from its Conservation Trust Fund reserves toward the accomplishments of the CCRP’s objectives; the Colorado Conservation Trust contributed $4,000. The bulk of those funds were used to pay for the surveys.

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