First-of-its-kind water conservation project on sold Colorado ranch

The sale of Little Cimarron Valley Ranch in southwest Colorado represents a successful partnership with a number of different stakeholders and the culmination of an innovative water conservation initiative that sets precedent for a new approach to Alternate Transfer Methods within the Colorado Water Plan. This solution is an attractive alternative as it alleviates the need for “buy-and-dry” transfers. This kind of split-water agreement, whereby water rights are utilized for both irrigation and in-stream flow, has never been completed in the western US until now.