Summit County lands and natural resources staff report they’ve secured almost half the money needed to close on the Ure Ranch, and there’s a grant application pending that could finance the rest of the 910 Cattle Ranch deal.
The 834-acre Ure Ranch is an ecologically-important part of the Kamas Valley, and the 910 is a massive, 8,600-acre property spanning western Summit County and southern Morgan County.
Neither is purchased yet; the county bought options with open space bond money and is looking for money to cover the rest. And so far, so good.
Ure Ranch
Summit County has until 2027 to close on the Ure Ranch. It made a $5 million down payment toward the final purchase price of $25 million last spring.
The Summit Land Conservancy recently contributed $6.2 million to preserve the “north meadows,” almost 200 acres north of state Route 248, in perpetuity.
The Eastern Summit County Agricultural Preservation Advisory Board has also contributed $250,000.
There’s $3 million in grant applications pending. If awarded, Summit County will be over halfway toward closing that deal.
The Summit County Council congratulated Lands and Natural Resources Director Jess Kirby on her work at the Feb. 14 council meeting.
“It feels great to finally shrink those gaps,” Kirby said.
910 Cattle Ranch
Summit County has until 2026 to close on the 910 Cattle Ranch, and it can buy an extra year for an additional $5 million.
It’s got $15 million down and $40 million to go. Now, Kirby said, a grant application is in with the U.S. Forest Service that would cover that $40 million.
She’ll hear back from the Forest Service in May. If Summit County doesn’t get the award, it’ll automatically be reentered for the next round of funding, which will be distributed in December.
Councilmember Canice Harte told KPCW later he's optimistic about receiving funding because Summit County is the only applicant in the region for this cycle.
In the meantime, the ambassadors program continues. Volunteers are taking notes and establishing a presence on the property for Kirby’s department.
“They've seen everything from turkey tracks to mountain lion tracks to bear tracks,” she said. “They've picked up trash; one of them found one of the old Jeremy Ranch signs.”
What they haven’t seen is anyone trespassing, which Kirby said is good news.
Planning process
Kirby has also hired a new program and project administrator to help with the planning processes on the Ure and 910.
But apart from a conservation easement on the Ure’s north meadows, nothing is decided for either ranch yet.
The lands and natural resources department has been holding roundtables with stakeholders and experts about the 910 Cattle Ranch ahead of meetings with the public.
On the Ure side of things, Summit County held an open house last month. The county's biggest takeaway was that keeping the land open and a working ranch is most important.
Keeping water on the land—not selling the water rights—was also important to the community. Trails and recreation opportunities would be "welcomed," according to Kirby's presentation.
Housing was polarizing, but county officials are hearing that small amount of community housing may be "acceptable" only if it's located in the right place.
There's a misconception circulating that the entire southern portion of the Ure Ranch will be developed. That's not true: nothing's been greenlit, and the county announced last spring the majority of the property will become protected open space.
A second open house to see what the community wants for the land will be Feb. 29.
