SEDALIA, CO - Connecting with the public agencies we partner with across Colorado is one of the highlights of our year, and this year's Public Agency Roundtable did not disappoint. On Thursday, August 27, we welcomed public agency partners from across the state to Cherokee Ranch and Castle in Sedalia for a full day of connection, conversation, and shared learning. The roundtable discussion included a local funding panel, an update on Keep It Colorado's developing strategic plan and how we can better support public agencies going forward, and facilitated breakout conversations on conservation easement stewardship, condemnation, funding challenges, and other topics participants raised themselves.
After the group toured the castle, Ranch Manager Rafael Miranda — who has managed the Cherokee Ranch property for more than 30 years — led the group out to the ranch itself, joined by Dan Dertz of Douglas County Open Space and Natural Resources and other partners. They shared the history of the ranch, the collaborative effort that made its protection possible, and how the property is stewarded and managed today, before the group capped off the day with a hike to one of the largest groves of petrified trees in the state.
Thank you to everyone who joined us, and to Cherokee Ranch and Castle, Rafael Miranda, and Dan Dertz for such a memorable afternoon in the field. We're already looking forward to next year.
