Secondary Economic Benefits of Agriculture

In August of 2004, The Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Colorado State University produced a report entitled “Winter Tourism and Land Development in Gunnison, Colorado”.  The purpose of the report was to measure the economic benefit of ranch open space to winter tourism.  The preamble to the report includes the following observation:

“Current Gunnison County landowners and leaders face a decision regarding the potential irreversible intensification of private land use in the county.  At the crux of the issues is whether the private decision to convert agricultural lands into higher intensity land uses and build infrastructure is in the best interests of the county at large.  Whether more tourism services at the loss of working ranches and a more open landscape would result in more or less economic development and an improved or deteriorating quality of life in Gunnison County remains a central and open question.”

The econometric model used to evaluate survey results concluded that winter tourists assign significant value to private ranch lands, even in the presence of substantial public open space, and they would decrease their visitation were large percentage of ranch open space converted to residential and commercial tourism infrastructure.  This decrease in visitation is shown to have substantial and potentially serious impacts that span across much of the local economy.  The study estimates that this effect is on the order of $14.5 million and 350 jobs per year.


Geography of Agriculture in Gunnison County

There is a wide variety of methodologies for mapping agricultural uses in Gunnison County, all with unique strengths and weaknesses.  Figure I-1 (5.2 MB) depicts the agricultural uses in the County based on the definition used by the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW).  The CDOW methodology is the most scientifically rigorous approach, and is based on the use of LANDSAT satellite photography to identify agricultural uses based on vegetation type and available water supply.  Two (2) different types of ranchland are shown in Figure I-1 (5.2 MB); irrigated and non-irrigated. Another way of understanding agricultural uses, although not as reliable as the CDOW approach, is to utilize data from the Gunnison County Assessor’s Office.  Figure I-2 (4.9 MB) displays all of the property in the County that is taxed based on an agricultural land use designation.  This is less reliable due to the fact that many properties are not used to generate the principal source of income through agricultural production.  A composite of these two approaches is shown on Figure I-3 (5.5 MB).  By combining these two definitions, nearly 82 percent of the private land mass in the County is defined as agricultural uses.


Relationship Between Agriculture Lands and Viewsheds

A primary finding of the Community Survey conducted by the County in the summer of 2002 was the crucial nature of viewsheds along the State Highways 135 and 50 corridors.  This is further justification for combining Agriculture and Open Space into a common element of the Comprehensive Plan.   In short, the issues associated with agricultural preservation and viewsheds cannot be viewed independently.

Figure I-4 (5.5 MB) graphically depicts the linkage between viewsheds and agricultural uses in the County.  In simplest terms, the viability of agriculture is crucial to retaining the rural lifestyle and visual appeal of the County, particularly within the State Highway 135 and 50 corridors.


Open Space Efforts in Gunnison County

Gunnison County has been a leader in the State of Colorado in preserving open space through local efforts and funding sources.  Three principal players have led efforts to preserve open space in the County.

The Crested Butte Land Trust (Trust) was formed in 1991, and has preserved over 3,893 acres in ownership and easements.  The Trust has focused its efforts in the upper East River Valley, and acquisitions have centered on ecological and biodiversity resources, view planes and riparian areas including six parcels used for agriculture. 

The Gunnison Ranchland Conservation Legacy (Legacy) was formed in 1996 and has preserved over 14,000 acres.  Legacy has focused its efforts on preserving and conserving ranches and ranchlands.  The mission of Legacy is:  “To create a legacy for future generations by preserving ranching and conserving ranchlands in Gunnison County.” 

The Gunnison Valley Land Preservation Board was formed in 1997, and is primarily a funding source for the land trusts and conservation organizations active in Gunnison County.  It was created by a ballot measure that established a multi-jurisdictional sales tax pool that raises over $230,000 per year that is used as leverage for other funding sources such as Great Outdoors Colorado (GoCo) funds.  In 2002, the voters of the County approved a ballot measure that allows the Board to borrow up to $1 million against the sales tax revenue contribution.

Figure I-5 (2.1 MB) depicts all the easements currently in place, and includes easements held by The Nature Conservancy, The Trust for Public Lands, and other active land trusts in the region.  Total easements held in the County are approximately 33,121 acres, which is nearly 10 percent of all private land in the County.


Policies Regarding Agriculture and Open Space

As part of the overall Comprehensive Plan Process, the County appointed a Focus Group (Group) that was given the task of developing overall policies regarding agriculture and open space.  The Group met from December 2002 to September of 2003.  The policies developed by the group are summarized below, and expanded within the implementation matrices that are included within Appendix C of Comprehensive Plan.


Overall Goal Statement

Goal:  To preserve, sustain and enhance ranching, agriculture and open space lands within Gunnison County.


Agriculture/Ranching Objectives (In no particular order)

• Encourage development to occur close to existing services, protect the viability of agriculture, and reduce conflicts between development and ongoing agricultural operations.
• Encourage the viability of ranching and other existing agricultural operations by ensuring the land use regulations support on-going agricultural operations.
• Promote diversification of existing and historical agricultural uses by allowing for secondary uses that support on-going agricultural activities.
• Inform and educate the community about the value of ranching to avoid conflicts and support the sustainability of agriculture.
• Support public lands policies that allow a viable ranching economy by ensuring the availability of and access to historic federal grazing permits.
• Protect agricultural irrigation water rights.
• Maintain water basin integrity by opposing trans-basin export and by supporting ways to keep water in the county.
• Promote community gardens and Farmers' Markets.
• Continue to encourage and support conservation easement strategies targeting the protection of existing agricultural uses, and continue to limit public access when necessary.
• Continue to fund and support the Colorado State Cooperative Extension Service, the Colorado State Cooperative Extension Research Station and the 4-H program.
• Continue to explore options within future land use regulations modifications that would allow for a streamlined review process that would allow subdivision of small parcels on agricultural lands without impacting the viability of on-going agricultural operations.
• Take appropriate measures to protect the Gunnison Sage Grouse and their needed habitat, but recognize that ESA listing may have detrimental affects on agriculture, which in turn ultimately could have detrimental effects on needed sage grouse habitat.

Open Space Objectives (In no Particular Order)

• Enhance and protect the aesthetic values of the East River Corridor/State Highway 135 view sheds by use of clustering as well as greenbelts, buffers and easements along the highway and other conservation tools.
• Promote trails and public access for community use while respecting private property rights with guidance from the Gunnison Trails Commission.
• Protect the scientific, environmental and ecological value of Rocky Mountain Biological Lab (RMBL) and promote biological diversity and wildlife habitat.
• Restrict recreational motorized and non-motorized use to their designated areas throughout the County by correct use of signage and educational information.  Discourage motorized use in inappropriate areas by encouraging cooperation with Federal agencies and appropriate user groups.
• Discourage use of magnesium chloride and explore alternatives to protect plant life and water quality along the highways and roadways.
• Continue to support the efforts of all existing land trusts in acquiring land to protect view sheds, riparian and wetlands, sage grouse and other wildlife, and important agricultural lands.
• Protect water quality and quantity and promote water conservation and continue to protect riparian areas, watersheds, streams, rivers, wetlands, lakes and small scale storage.
• Identify and map archeological sites throughout the County as a reference while reviewing projects that may impact these resources.
• Open space mapping shall include all open spaces including easements within existing subdivisions.
• Ensure that resource extraction activities are compatible with agriculture and open space.