The 21,000-acre Greenland Ranch, located between Denver and Colorado Springs, has the soft rolling hills, mesas and rugged views that define Colorado’s foothills. The ranch spans eight miles of Interstate 25, Colorado's major north/south highway, which serves over 3 million residents. Greenland Ranch is the centerpiece of the I-25 Conservation Corridor Project.

With chain stores and housing construction threatening iconic Colorado landscapes up and down I-25, The Conservation Fund made it a priority to conserve Greenland Ranch. John Malone, America’s largest landowner known for his leadership in land preservation, worked with us to ensure that most of the land would continue as a working ranch with strong restrictions on future development. Approximately 4,000 acres was sold to Douglas County for use as public open space.

Key support for this project came from a dedicated sales tax in Douglas County and from Great Outdoors Colorado, a voter-approved program that uses lottery proceeds for land conservation.

Thanks to a true team effort, Greenland Ranch remains the largest tract of privately protected land along Colorado's Front Range. In a 2006 Denver Post story, Malone remarked that “Greenland Ranch is our contribution to the area, to Colorado and particularly the Front Range, to think ahead and keep it in its natural state.”

Learn More

Places We Protect: Working Lands
Partner With Us: State and Local Governments
Great Outdoors Colorado