Eagle Rock Ranch in Colorado’s Park County has undergone a major transformation since Dave and Jeannie Gottenborg took ownership of the property.
asserted
Gottenborg → undergo → property
What they inherited was a badly damaged working ranch, with muddy corrals, cut creekside willows, worn-out fencing and hay fields managed in ways that harmed wildlife, soil and water.
asserted
that → inherit → wildlife
Over the years, the couple began repairing the land while continuing to run cattle, gradually changing how the ranch handled water, grazing, vegetation and wildlife.
asserted
ranch → begin → water
Their work has now earned Eagle Rock Ranch the 2026 Colorado Leopold Conservation Award, recognising its approach to conservation.
asserted
work → earn → conservation
How did the damaged Eagle Rock Ranch begin its transformation
According to the
Sand County Foundation, the Gottenborgs became owners of Eagle Rock Ranch about 15 years before the 2026 award.
uncertain
Gottenborgs → damage → award
The property was described as a wounded landscape, with corrals that were knee-deep in mud and manure.
asserted
that → describe → mud
Creekside willows had been removed to make room for more hay, while hay fields were repeatedly mowed close to the ground.
asserted
fields → remove → ground
Those practices created problems beyond the appearance of the ranch.
asserted
practices → create → ranch
The Sand County Foundation says they were detrimental to wildlife, soil health and water quality.
asserted
they → say → wildlife
Fences were also regularly damaged by migrating elk, despite earlier attempts to keep the animals away using propane cannons.
asserted
Fences → damage → cannons
The condition of the property meant the new owners had to address basic problems before building a more sustainable system.
asserted
owners → mean → system
They removed rubbish and rotting corrals and began restoring vegetation with native grasses.
asserted
They → remove → grasses
Old, rusty barbed wire was replaced with fencing designed to be safer for wildlife.
asserted
wire → replace → wildlife
Major changes that helped in recovering the land
One of the changes involved the way hay fields were managed.
asserted
fields → help → way
Instead of cutting the vegetation completely short, the ranch leaves enough hay stubble standing to trap blowing snow.
asserted
ranch → cut → snow
According to the Sand County Foundation, this also helps in slowing down erosion and allows more water to enter the soil, improving its condition.
uncertain
water → accord → condition
Water management was also redesigned.
asserted
management → redesign → ?
Clean water from a settling pond is now carried to the hay fields through an underground culvert system.
asserted
water → settle → system
A solar-powered pump supplies fresh drinking water through miles of underground pipe to 10 stock tanks.
asserted
pump → power → tanks
The positioning of those tanks has allowed the Gottenborgs to use rotational grazing.
asserted
Gottenborgs → allow → grazing
Rather than concentrating cattle in the same areas, the system helps spread grazing pressure across the ranch.
asserted
system → concentrate → ranch
The Sand County Foundation says this increases forage availability while reducing the impact of livestock on the land.
asserted
this → say → land
How is wildlife benefiting from the ranch’s changes
The restoration has also reached the ranch’s creek and surrounding habitat.
asserted
restoration → benefit → creek
The Sand County Foundation reports that the creek now runs clean and supports abundant fish following erosion-control work and the addition of fish habitat structures.
asserted
creek → report → structures
Hundreds of willow saplings have been planted along the waterway.
asserted
Hundreds → plant → waterway
They help hold the soil in place while providing shade for trout.
asserted
They → hold → trout
The ranch has also installed screens on irrigation ditches to stop fish from entering them, while fish ladders give trout better access to spawning areas.
asserted
ladders → instal → areas
Wildlife protection extends beyond the water.
asserted
protection → extend → water
Every stock tank has a ladder intended to prevent birds from drowning.
asserted
tank → have → birds
Bird houses were installed to encourage Mountain Bluebirds to return, while bat houses provide places for bats that can contribute to pollination and mosquito control.
asserted
that → instal → pollination
Owl boxes were also added to support natural rodent control.
asserted
boxes → add → control
Ranch’s work extend beyond its own boundaries
The Gottenborgs’ conservation work has not been limited to Eagle Rock Ranch.
asserted
work → extend → Ranch
, Dave Gottenborg initiated discussions that eventually produced the nation’s first elk migration agreement.
asserted
that → initiate → agreement
The voluntary programme was developed with the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust and the Property and Environment Research Center.
asserted
programme → develop → Trust
It uses private funding and incentives to compensate landowners who allow elk and other hoofed animals to move across their properties.
asserted
elk → use → properties
The arrangement has since attracted interest among cattle ranchers and other landowners across the American West.
asserted
arrangement → attract → West
Eagle Rock Ranch also hosts research into elk and deer crossings along county roads and highways.
asserted
Ranch → host → roads
Working with the Property and Environment Research Center, researchers use trail-camera data to examine whether wildlife-friendly fencing can encourage elk to cross roads at safer, designated locations.
asserted
fencing → work → locations
The Gottenborgs have also taken steps to understand the range of life already present on their property.
asserted
Gottenborgs → take → property
The Sand County Foundation reports that Dave invited the Colorado Natural Heritage Program to survey and catalogue the plants, birds and invertebrates found across the ranch.
asserted
Dave → report → ranch
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
