Pitkin County agrees to contribute $7.7 million toward joint purchase of 3 Meadows Ranch

Pitkin County commissioners on Wednesday approved on first reading an ordinance that authorizes up to $7.7 million toward the joint purchase of the 3 Meadows Ranch, a roughly 4,300‑acre property in the Roaring Fork watershed in Eagle County. Commissioners said the combined purchase, financed by Eagle County, Aspen Valley Land Trust and a private donor, will conserve the ranch and protect migration and wintering habitat for elk and deer.

The purchase price for the property was reported to be $27.7 million. Under the deal as presented at the meeting, Eagle County would contribute $12.5 million, Aspen Valley Land Trust would contribute $7.5 million (funds provided by the Wexner family), and Pitkin County would provide up to $7.7 million. Pitkin Open Space staff said the county’s amount was unanimously recommended by the Pitkin County Open Space & Trails board.

“This property has been on our radar,” Aspen Valley Land Trust staff member Suzanne Stevens said to commissioners during the presentation, adding the site contains a mix of sagebrush steppe, wetlands, irrigated meadows and upland forest. “It’s a pretty extraordinary corridor along Cottonwood Pass.”

County staff and partners described the ranch as important habitat for elk and deer and as part of a larger contiguous swath of private and public conserved land in the Owl Creek–Cottonwood Pass area. Tom Cardamone of the Watershed Biodiversity Initiative said prior field work and survey plots show the property contains high‑quality habitat and contributes to landscape connectivity.

Pitkin staff told the board the county’s funds would be matched by Eagle County’s open‑space fund and AVLT’s private donation. Pitkin Open Space staff also highlighted a planned conservation easement on roughly 55 acres within the property, dedication of a trail easement for the Owl Creek Nordic trail and a proposed parking area to allow public access to the trail without creating additional driveway crossings.

Gideon Kaufman, who identified himself as a representative of a private donor family, said the donors supported the conservation effort. “We’re excited to be part of this collaborative effort,” he said.

Commissioners voted to approve the ordinance on first reading and set the item for a public hearing on Jan. 22. The ordinance, the staff memo said, will authorize Pitkin County to expend up to $7.7 million toward the purchase pending the completion of the purchase contract and matching contributions from the other partners.

If the purchase is completed, Pitkin County staff said the property would remain in private conservation ownership through the land trust and county easement and would be managed to preserve wildlife habitat and limit development pressures that could affect traffic and wildlife in the Roaring Fork watershed.

The county’s open‑space director noted Pitkin County had capacity to contribute because of a prior loan from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) that increased current conservation funds available to the county. Staff said they had worked with Eagle County, AVLT and other partners in an expedited, holiday‑season effort to secure the contract and prevent a sale that might have led to divisions of the property and potential development.

The ordinance passed first reading; the purchase remains contingent on final contract terms and the partners’ funding commitments. A public hearing and second reading was scheduled for Jan. 22, 2025.