Leopold Conservation Award to be presented to Colorado co-op member Mesa de Ranch

The Wisconsin-based conservation organization Sand County Foundation, in partnership with the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust and EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc., is proud to name John & Carolyn Doherty’s Mesa de Maya Ranch as the winner of the 2009 Leopold Conservation Award in Colorado.

The award was presented to the Dohertys June 16 at the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association annual conference held in Grand Junction.

“The Doherty Family is living proof that the land ethic, championed by Aldo Leopold, can be embraced generation after generation,” said Dr. Brent Haglund, Sand County Foundation President. “It is exceptional that three generations of Dohertys are working together to ensure that the land, water, and wildlife on the ranch are managed sustainably.”

The Leopold Conservation Award is a competitive award that recognizes landowner achievement in voluntary conservation. The award consists of an Aldo Leopold crystal and a check for $10,000. In 2009, Sand County Foundation will present Leopold Conservation Awards in Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, Utah and California.

The awards are presented to accomplish three objectives: First, they recognize extraordinary achievement in voluntary conservation on the land of exemplary private landowners. Second, they inspire countless other landowners in their own communities through these examples. Finally, they provide a visible forum where leaders from the agriculture community are recognized as conservation leaders to groups outside of agriculture.

Tri-State helped sponsor the award this year as it recognized the ongoing conservation efforts by electric cooperative members.

The Dohertys have utilized several conservation initiatives on their ranch. They effectively manage water distribution through the installation of approximately 25 miles of pipeline that ties several watering facilities together, providing clean sources of water for livestock and wildlife. They also developed two erosion control dams/ponds that provide additional water. Brush control is used to improve the ranch’s grassland. The family has removed woody invasive species such as juniper, pinion, and tamarisk from over 150 acres of the Mesa de Maya.

The Doherty family’s land holdings are so vast that they are electrically served by two separate Tri-State member co-ops: Southeast Colorado Power Association (La Junta, Colo.) and San Isabel Electric Association (Pueblo West, Colo.).

“I remember that in 1959 that my mother first approached Southeast Power to put in a power line and bring electricity to this ranch,” recalled John Doherty.  “Looking back on it now, it seemed like a big investment.  It’s been a real blessing to us,” he said.

In the ensuing years, the Doherty family has embraced new electric technologies by installing several solar-powered well pumps at various sites on the property.  But, of course, innovation just comes naturally to this southern Colorado rancher.

Read more about the Doherty family and the Leopold Conservation Award.

Updated:  June 17, 2009