Funding the Purchase of the Homestead Parcel

A video from The Conservation Fund, explaining their loan program. This may well be our best lead yet to assist in a loan to purchase of the Homestead parcel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3OdF9QdiVM.

Telluride Threat – The Valley is saved

Telluride, Colorado saved its iconic 572-acre Valley Floor from massive commercial and residential development through a historic decade-long legal battle and an eminent domain condemnation. Click here to see the movie FOREVER WILD about this conservation triumph: www.pbs.org

• Forever Wild

• 5/6/2022 | 56m 56s|CC

• FOREVER WILD chronicles an environmental and democratic triumph in the historic town of Telluride, Colorado. A billionaire developer plotted to turn 600 acres of pristine valley floor into a mammoth lake and golf resort by manipulating the politicians and press. Nothing stood in his way until a small group of citizens united the residents, rallied the community, and fought for the land.

The Threat

• In the 1990s and 2000s, landowner Neal Blue and the San Miguel Valley Corporation proposed turning the pristine entrance valley into a large resort complex.

• Plans included a luxury hotel, an 18-hole golf course, commercial centers, condominiums, and 8,000-square-foot homes.

The Community Fight

• Public Outrage: Residents overwhelmingly rejected compromise deals that would have allowed even minor development, staging massive rallies with the slogan "Free the Valley."

• Eminent Domain: In 2000, the Town of Telluride voted to condemn the property to preserve it as public open space.

• Legal Victory: A jury valued the land at $50 million, leading to a landmark 2008 Colorado Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the town's constitutional right to condemn the property outside its borders.

• Preservation: The community successfully secured the funds to purchase and protect the land under a permanent conservation easement

Wild Life: April 4, 2023 release, by Oscar-winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, National Geographic Documentary about Doug and Kris Tompkins visionary efforts to effect the largest private land donation in history – 14.7 million acres.   https://films.nationalgeographic.com/wild-life.·   and National Geographic's 'Wild Life' chronicles love, hope and dedication to the planet - ABC13 Houston  

Wild Life: April 4, 2023 release, by Oscar-winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, National Geographic Documentary about Doug and Kris Tompkins visionary efforts to effect the largest private land donation in history – 14.7 million acres.   https://films.nationalgeographic.com/wild-life.

• Mount Tom Conservation Area, Denver, April 9, 2023 – 2000 acres 30miles NW of Denver (A $25million deal by The Conservation Fund, Great Outdoors Colorado, Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Jefferson County) https://www.denverpost.com/2023/04/12/mount-tom-conservation-collective-jefferson-county-open-space/.

• Sweetwater Campus Parcel, Eagle County, April 11, 2023 – 224 acre conservation easement ( Deal by Walking Mountains Science Center, Eagle Valley Land Trust and Eagle County Open Space) https://www.vaildaily.com/news/eagle-valley/conservation-easement-permanently-preserves-224-acres-at-sweetwater/.

• Sweetwater Lake, Garfield/Eagle County, Feb 11, 2023  – 448 acres ($7.1 million deal by the Land  Water Conservation Fund, Eagle Valley Trust, and The Conservation Fund) https://www.outtherecolorado.com/news/save-the-lake-stunning-colorado-destination-to-be-protected-by-us-forest-service/article_2560a1e2-d21b-5d7a-885f-8b5bda793f2d.html.html

·         Funding the Purchase of the Parcel

A video from The Conservation Fund, explaining their loan program. This may well be our best lead yet to assist in a loan to purchase of the Red Rocks Wildlife Sanctuary parcel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3OdF9QdiVM.