Leopold Conservation Award in Colorado presented to Coleman Ranches

*** Watch a video highlighting some of the Colemans' accomplishments ***

The Wisconsin-based conservation organization Sand County Foundation, in partnership with the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association and the Colorado Agricultural Land Trust, is proud to name Coleman Ranches, Inc. as the winner of the 2008 Leopold Conservation Award in Colorado.

“The Coleman Family has been producing, not only terrific products, but also environmental sustainability for decades through improved wildlife habitat and water quality on their land,” said Dr. Brent Haglund, Sand County Foundation President. “The Colemans run their business on a solid foundation of sustainability, integrity and quality, and we are proud to honor their work.
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The fifth-generation Coleman Ranch consists of over 1,500 acres of irrigated meadows and mixed short- and tallgrass prairie in Saguache, located approximately 200 miles southwest of Denver. The ranch, owned and operated by Jim and Frances Coleman, their son, Tim, and his wife, Teddi, has raised certified natural organic beef under the Coleman Natural brand for almost 30 years.

The Colemans have made numerous efforts to preserve the natural integrity of their ranch. They were the first family ranch in the Saguache Creek area to protect their land with a conservation easement. Their property supports a diversity of wildlife, including several bird species, elk, mule deer and cottontails. Saguache Creek, which flows through their ranch, provides habitat for Rio Grande chub and cutthroat trout. The Colemans permit limited hunting and fishing on their land to manage these populations. They utilize rotational grazing, cross-fencing and water facilities to prevent over-grazing and improve ranch forage.

“To me, this is what conservation is all about, to take care of what nature gave us,” Frances Coleman said.

The Colemans make it a point to be involved in the larger agricultural community. Among other civic involvement, Jim has served for several years on the Canon City and San Luis Valley District Grazing Advisory Boards. He also is a member of the San Luis Valley Cattlemen’s Association, the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, and Resource Advisory Council for the Front Range Bureau of Land Management. Jim has been honored with the Conservationist of the Year –Ranching Division in 2001 and was named San Luis Valley Cattleman of the Year in 2005.

Above all, the Coleman Family appreciates the relationship Aldo Leopold envisioned between individuals and their land.

“To understand land, you’ve got to become part of it,” Jim Coleman said. “When you do that, you’ll learn that it’s always changing.
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For more information, visit www.leopoldconservationaward.org, or contact Beka Gill
303-431-6422, beka@coloradocattle.org.

ABOUT SAND COUNTY FOUNDATION
Sand County Foundation (www.sandcounty.net) is a private, non-profit conservation group dedicated to working with private landowners to improve habitat on their land. Sand County’s mission is to advance the use of ethical and scientifically sound land management practices and partnerships for the benefit of people and their rural landscapes. Sand County Foundation works with private landowners because the majority of the nation’s fish, wildlife, and natural resources are found on private lands. The organization backs local champions, invests in civil society and places incentives before regulation to create solutions that ensure and grow. The organization encourages the exercise of private responsibility in the pursuit of improved land health as an essential alternative to many of the commonly used strategies in modern conservation.

ABOUT THE LEOPOLD CONSERVATION AWARD
The Leopold Conservation Award is a competitive award that recognizes landowner achievement in voluntary conservation. The award consists of an Aldo Leopold crystal and a check for $10,000. In 2008, Sand County Foundation will present Leopold Conservation Awards in Wisconsin, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, Utah and California.
 

The awards are presented to accomplish three objectives: First, they recognize extraordinary achievement in voluntary conservation on the land of exemplary private landowners. Second, they inspire countless other landowners in their own communities through these examples. Finally, they provide a visible forum where leaders from the agriculture community are recognized as conservation leaders to groups outside of agriculture.

ABOUT COLORADO CATTLEMEN’S ASSOCIATION
The Colorado Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) is the state’s only nonprofit trade organization exclusively representing Colorado’s beef producers. Founded in 1867, CCA is the nation’s oldest state cattlemen’s association. CCA serves its members by speaking out on behalf of Colorado’s more than 12,000 beef producers.

ABOUT COLORADO CATTLEMEN’S AGRICULTURAL LAND TRUST
Recognizing the need to help Colorado ranchers and farmers protect their agricultural lands, in the face of growing development and economic pressures, the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association in 1995 formed the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT).