Our Role

Recognizing their ranch’s conservation, historic and cultural value, the May family wanted to ensure that their land would remain the same for generations to come. They worked with The Conservation Fund and Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust, with support from The Nature Conservancy and the Colorado Conservation Partnership, to place a conservation easement on the property. A conservation easement is an agreement a landowner makes that restricts the way the property can be used. The land remains privately owned, and regardless of who may own the land in the future, the property will remain a working ranch.

Why This Project Matters

The ranch’s relatively large size and its connectivity to other landscapes encourage meaningful conservation for wildlife species in decline. Largely due to habitat fragmentation, the lesser prairie chicken’s estimated population size in the entire state is currently less than 150 birds. We’ve worked across the West to stitch together enough land to give the prairie chicken more room to roam, and preserving May Ranch is a significant step forward.

"For years we had the strong desire and determination to preserve our ranch in its pristine native state to maintain and protect it for wildlife habitat, and to to make it possible for future generations to continue to ranch in hard economic conditions. The pressure to develop native grassland is intense. The Fund is an amazing organization that made this possible, and Sydney Macy, Sr. Vice President and Colorado State Director, with her vast experience and devotion, readily accepted this challenge and put together a team of true professionals that made it a reality."

Learn More

• Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust - Press Release