COLORADO TROPHY ELK HUNTING RANCH AT ABSOLUTE AUCTION!
Property Data
1,300 deeded acres +/-
small historic hunting cabin 300 s.f.
BLM grazing permit
Deeded water rights
Outstanding elk hunting
Deer, elk, antelope
8,400 feet in elevation
The Blue Mountain Ranch, a 1,298-acre +/- Northwest Colorado hunting and cattle ranch, will be offered at absolute auction in a no-reserve online auction no later than September 15, 2016. The ranch is bordered by Dinosaur National Monument and is located in famous Game Management Unit 10, known for trophy world-class bull elk. The ranch can support up to 65 pairs of cattle for summer grazing, and also sells within adjacent BLM grazing permit.
SCENIC NORTHWEST COLORADO RANCH BORDERS DINOSAUR NATIONAL MONUMENT
The Blue Mountain Ranch has an absolutely unique geographical setting with easy access. Situated just south of Dinosaur National Monument, the ranch covers both sides of a high ridge that overlooks miles and miles of spectacular Colorado vistas. Though it has cattle grazing that can accommodate up to 65 pairs of cattle, it is known as especially good elk, deer, and antelope habitat, with the emphasis on elk. The upper elevation of the ranch is 8,249 feet, which is ideal for trophy elk. The terrain is a mixture of ridges and valleys, with developed stock ponds providing water for livestock and game. Vegetation is sage, grassy open meadows, some pinyon and juniper, and a small grove of aspens at the top of the property.
1,298 ACRES IN 5 DIFFERENT PARCELS—COLORADO CATTLE RANCH WITH BLM GRAZING LEASE
Many people know Dinosaur National Monument for the visitor's center with petrified dinosaur skeletons encased in sandstone, known as the “Wall of Bones.” That location is actually in Utah, on the west end of Dinosaur National Monument, several miles west of the confluence of the Green and Yampah rivers, and hot and dry at only 4,866 feet in elevation. This ranch is near the center of Dinosaur National Monument, on the north end of a wide plateau that overlooks the confluence of the two rivers. It is a dramatic setting with breathtaking scenery. The entry to the center of the park is known as the Canyon Visitor Center, just a couple of miles east of the town of Dinosaur, Colorado, on US Highway 40. From the Canyon Visitor Center, you drive 15 miles north on the Harper's Corner Highway, a paved road that is maintained by the Park Service, to the property on the right. The ranch is comprised of 5 separate parcels. The South Parcel is 4 contiguous parcels of 854 acres, 40 acres, 32 acres, and 33.4 acres, to be found on the east side of the Harper's Corner Highway, a paved road maintained by the National Park Service. The north parcel is 337.4 acres that borders the Canyon Overlook of Dinosaur National Monument. The terrain is good for summer cattle grazing, and with the neighboring BLM grazing lease, it can support up to 65 pairs from June through early October. The owners have developed a series of stock ponds that provide water for livestock and game, and the ponds have been filed on and adjudicated with the Colorado Department of Water Resources.
OUTSTANDING COLORADO ELK HUNTING PROPERTY WITH HUGE TROPHY BULL ELK IN GAME MANAGEMENT UNIT 10
Elk hunting on the Blue Mountain Ranch is outstanding. Colorado GMU 10 is known as perhaps the very best unit in the state to harvest a trophy bull, with hunters waiting up to 20 years or more to draw a tag. This ranch has landowner preference points so that the owners occasionally get the coveted tags, which sell for up to $25,000 each. Hunters have historically harvested monster elk on the ranch, with bulls taken on the ranch scoring up to 386. There is also a good population of mule deer on the property, with nice bucks seen fairly frequently. Both cow elk and mule deer does like to bear their young on the ranch, so it has high value as wildlife habitat. In addition to elk and deer, the property has good populations of sage grouse, blue grouse, raptors, predators, and also the occasional antelope.
EXCELLENT CANDIDATE FOR A CONSERVATION EASEMENT PROPERTY
Because the ranch borders Dinosaur National Monument and also has very high wildlife values in a trophy elk unit, it is an ideal candidate for a conservation easement, whereby the existing uses of grazing and hunting would be protected, but future development into cabin sites would be limited. This is a serious financial play that can gain many advantages to the right owner who understands the value of a good conservation easement—both cash payments and tax incentives can be involved.
