A multi-player conservation deal in Colorado resulted in the purchase of Ditmars Ranch, a 1,500-acre tract at the south edge of Castle Rock. Douglas County and the nonprofit Conservation Fund each ponied up $1 million for the sale of the cattle ranch, which will open for guided public events. (The state’s Open Space Sales and Use Tax, enacted and reaffirmed back in the 1990s, generated the county funding.) Don Ditmars, whose grandfather purchased the land in 1892, expressed gratitude that the conservation easement program will protect his family’s ranch from development or environmental exploitation. Hallmarks of the property include evergreen forest and grasslands as well as habitat for elk, mule deer, black bear, mountain lion, pronghorn, and bighorn sheep.

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