Colorado River Basin
The Colorado River system, including the Colorado River, its tributaries, and the lands that these waters drain, is called the Colorado River Basin. It drains an area of 637,000 square kilometers (246,000 square miles), including parts of seven western U.S. states (Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, California) and Mexico. The basin is a crucial resource supplying water to about 40 million people and irrigating close to 4 million acres of farm and ranch land each year. To address diminishing flows and greater demand for water from the Colorado River, agricultural producers in Colorado’s west slope are participating in a voluntary pilot program that compensates them for temporarily fallowing their crops and letting the water run down the river.
Strawberry Creek Ranch | Meeker, Colorado – $4,800,000
With the worsening drought in the American Southwest, ranches like Strawberry Creek in the Meeker area with their dependable, senior, upper basin water, will likely be exporting hay to those hard-hit areas, and getting top dollar for it. With 9.125 shares of Niblock Ditch water – that’s approximately 22 cfs – for irrigating around 400 acres, one can produce in the neighborhood of 800 tons of hay at this ranch.
K-T Ranch | Meeker, Colorado – Recently Reduced to $6,500,000
Also in Meeker, K-T Ranch is all about water. Whether focused on fishing or hay production, K-T offers ample water for both. The ranch includes approximately 370 irrigated acres and 23 cfs of historic water rights dating back to the 1880s.
Porcupine Ridge Ranch | Toponas, Colorado – $16,700,000
Containing an empire of water, Porcupine Ridge has some of the most significant water rights on any ranch in western Colorado. For 2018 alone, the ranch will produce $421,000 in income by voluntarily participating in a pilot program that compensates the owners for fallowing their fields.
The Cottonwood | Daniel, Wyoming – $30,000,000
With extensive riverine and riparian corridors and frontage on almost 40 miles of rivers, streams and creeks, the Cottonwood has significant water resources with 76.9 cfs of senior water rights irrigating/sub-irrigati
Cross Mountain Ranch | Hayden, Colorado – $100,000,000
Water is king on Cross Mountain Ranch and its water rights represent a long-term investment opportunity. Offering 12 miles of the Yampa River, 6 miles of the Little Snake River, and 2.5 miles of the Williams Fork River, the ranch is blessed with valuable and historic water rights (102 individually identified rights!) that irrigate hundreds of acres of meadows and pastures that rest alongside the rivers.
North Platte River Basin
The North Platte Basin is located in north central Colorado in Jackson County and a small portion of Larimer County. The basin covers an area of roughly 2,050 square miles and has a population of 1,491. The largest town in the basin is Walden with a population of 727 people.
Double R Ranch | Walden, Colorado – $13,600,000
With over 10 miles of river frontage, Double R Ranch has substantial and valuable water rights consisting of approximately 251 cfs that date back to the 1880s and 936 acre feet of storage rights. These rights irrigate 3,150 acres of hay meadows and 1,808 acres of pasture, making this a substantial cow-calf operation.
Arkansas River Basin
Indian Hills Farm | Fowler, Colorado – $1,400,000
Indian Hills Farm is a well rounded property situated on the banks of the Arkansas River. The farm includes a very historic and significant “direct flow” water right out of the river that pre-dates the irrigation ditch companies in the area and guarantees water to irrigate 40 productive acres before downstream ditch users.
Seven Diamonds Ranch | Westcliffe, Colorado – $2,950,000
Not only does Seven Diamonds hold the oldest adjudicated right in the Valley (Voris Swift Creek #1 1869 priority date), it is said Seven Diamonds will make hay even in the driest years when no other ranch in the valley can. The ~558 acre ranch is the last private ground along the banks of Grape Creek, the Valley’s primary stream before it enters DeWessee Reservoir, after which it leaves the valley, plunging down Grape Creek Canyon to the Arkansas River. As both the most senior right and the last user above the reservoir, the ranch serves as a keystone to much of the rest of the water in the valley.
Kaess Ranch | Salida, Colorado – $4,200,000
By controlling both conventional senior deeded rights (Kennedy ditch) as well as a shared interest in the non-tributary spring-fed waters flowing year round down the Harrington Gulch (Harrington ditch), the Kaess Ranch always has a robust source of water outside conventional seasonal flows, even in the driest years, and can get as many as three seasonal hay cuttings. This unique combination of location and hydrolic flexibility, has drawn the attention of the Kaess Ranch to many burgeoning non-conventional agricultural entrepreneurs with interests in hemp, hops, grapes, and the unique quality of life available in Salida.
Rio Grande River Basin
Rising as a clear, snow-fed mountain stream more than 12,000 feet (3,700 metres) above sea level in the Rocky Mountains, the Rio Grande descends across steppes and deserts, watering rich agricultural regions as it flows on its way to the Gulf of Mexico. The total length of the river is about 1,900 miles (3,060 km).
North San Luis Valley Portfolio | Moffat, Colorado – $24,300,000
The North San Luis Valley Portfolio properties are blessed with an incredible amount of water, with over 20,000 acre feet of senior water rights,1,400 acres irrigated under sprinkler, and thousands of acres sub and flood irrigated pasture.
For your convenience, here’s a video recap: