LeValley Ranch Receives Statewide Excellence In Rangeland Conservation Award
Jun 08, 2011
BCRLT Conservation Easement Donors and Advisory Committee members Mark and Robbie Baird LeValley accepted the 2010 Excellence in Rangeland Conservation award on December 1, 2010. The award presentation was part of the annual meeting of the Colorado Section of the Society for Range Management (SRM). Each year the Colorado Section of SRM singles out a Colorado ranching operation that demonstrates “exceptional skill and knowledge in practicing sound management of rangelands” for SRM’s conservation ranching award.
The LeValley Ranch south of Hotchkiss, Colorado will celebrate its first hundred years of outstanding land stewardship in 2014. The ranch was originally founded by Mark’s grandfather in 1914 and it is the third generation of LeValleys currently at the helm, including Mark and Robbie and Mark’s brother Hank. Apparently three generations on the land is not very many for the LeValley clan. Mark and Robbie’s three sons are learning the ropes and preparing to become the fourth generation of great stewards of the LeValley Ranch.
In addition to the 200 acres in Conservation Easement with BCRLT on Black Mesa, LeValley ranch operates a much larger overall ranch composed of private land and BLM grazing allotments just south of Hotchkiss. The LeValleys have undertaken extensive conservation initiatives on these acres, including short livestock rotations, water improvements and wildlife guzzlers. The Colorado Section of SRM and LeValley Ranch will be hosting a tour of these LeValley Ranching operations on June 24th. Contact Lars Santana [lars.santana@co.usda.gov], NRCS Rangeland Specialist, if you are interested in attending the tour.
