Like many other not-for-profit organizations, The Nature Conservancy has been forced by the poor economy to scale back some of its operations and cut staff. So when TNC-Colorado needed experienced, hard-working volunteers they called us.
The Nature Conservancy purchased the Medano and Zapata ranches in the San Luis Valley in 1999. Along with the 100,000 acres they also acquired a herd of pure-bred bison, large herds of elk, deer and pronghorns. The spread is adjacent to Great Sand Dunes National Park and is ringed by 13- and 14-thousand foot peaks of the Sangre de Cristos. Now it is a combination working/dude ranch and conservation site where conservation-minded individuals come to experience the real West.
Rather than paying the going rate in dollars we traded in sweat. Most of the time we had the entire lodge to ourselves but we worked hard for the privilege, mostly scraping old paint and applying new. Fidel, our 'boss' said he would rather have two 'mature' workers (that's us) than ten younger ones who were there to have a good time. Not that we didn't enjoy ourselves! The sandhill cranes were long gone but the bison had recently calved and the great horned owls were sitting on their chicks. Recent snows had covered the peaks and the cottonwoods were a beautiful shade of green. It was so good we returned a few weeks later with more help. Tim and Candice, volunteer friends from the Museum, are also TNC supporters.
