ALAMOSA – The Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT) announces the completion of a new conservation easement with the Salazar family that conserves 301 acres of the Rockin’ S Ranch in the southern end of the San Luis Valley. The ranch is a working cattle and hay operation, has rich wildlife and wetland habitat, and is an important part of the Hispanic/Latino farming and ranching heritage and community of Conejos County. 

Rockin’ S Ranch is near Antonito, and includes 2.3 miles of the Rio San Antonio that flow through the property. After a career in public service that spanned more than 30 years, Owner Elliott Salazar’s commitment to the land has only deepened. He is a conservation-minded rancher that practices rotational grazing and sustainable hay production and has made riparian improvements along the river. The Rockin’ S Ranch conservation easement adds to the 50,858 acres CCALT holds in the San Luis Valley. 

“It has been a privilege working with Elliott and his family on this important conservation project. Elliott’s dedication to stewardship is reflected in the meticulously maintained hay meadows and stretches of the Rio San Antonio and its south branch that cut across the property,” said John Gioia, CCALT director of transactions. “Conserving the Rockin’ S Ranch builds on the conservation legacy of the Salazar family and other farming and ranching families in Conejos County and throughout the San Luis Valley. We’re grateful for their dedication to ensuring these important agricultural lands are protected for the benefit of current and future generations of Coloradans.” 

“The greatest fulfillment was joining four contiguous parcels with the San Antonio River and South Branch of the San Antonio river and then applying conservation practices such as river and riparian restoration, grazing management and other practices,” said Salazar. “The final stage was to identify a conservation program such as Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust to help protect this pristine property now and for future generations.” 

The Salazar family has San Luis Valley farming and ranching roots that go back to the 1860s. Originally homesteaded by the Cisneros family, portions of Rockin’ S Ranch lands have been in the Salazar family since the 1950s. Elliott Salazar has assembled the current ranch acreage parcel by parcel over the last decade. Remains of the original homestead cabin built by the Cisneros family still sit on the southern end of the property. The conservation easement will ensure the preservation of this important piece of the Hispanic farming and ranching heritage. 

Of the 301 acres conserved on the Rockin’ S Ranch, 219 acres are wetlands, which provide critical habitat for aquatic native species and habitat for migratory waterfowl passing through the San Luis Valley, a critical stopover for Central and Pacific Flyway birds. The conservation easement ties the water rights along the Cenicero and Cisneros ditches to the land, ensuring they continue to support the agricultural and wildlife foundations of the ranch. 

“The San Luis Valley serves as crucial nesting and migration habitat for waterfowl as well as home to dozens of other wetland-dependent wildlife species. The area has been a landscape priority for Ducks Unlimited since we began working in Colorado in the 1980s. In the Valley, we are dependent on voluntary conservation being conducted by agricultural producers and ranchers such as the Salazars to protect these vital wetlands,” said John Denton, Colorado manager of conservation programs for Ducks Unlimited.  “We applaud the Salazars and Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Lands Trust for their foresight and efforts to ensure these wetlands and associated uplands will remain permanently intact for wildlife to utilize while ensuring the ecosystem service benefits, such as improved water quality, continue for us all.” 

Water is a critical issue in the San Luis Valley, and Elliott Salazar has improved Cenicero ditch infrastructure with funds awarded from the Rio Grande Basin Roundtable and has worked with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to fence and improve the riparian areas on his property. He also currently sits on the Rio Grande Water Conservation District board and serves as the Cenicero Ditch Company President. 

This is the second conservation easement the Salazar family has completed with CCALT. Elliot’s brother John Salazar, formerly a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and former Commissioner of Agriculture under Governor Hickenlooper, conveyed a conservation easement on the Rancho La Luz Ranch in 2020. 

Transaction cost assistance was provided by the Keep It Colorado Transaction Cost Assistance Program with funding from Ducks Unlimited and Great Outdoors Colorado.