The Santa Fe Trail Ranch Property Owners Association (hereinafter “POA”) Common Area Committee is focused on those parcels and areas within the Santa Fe Trail Ranch subdivision that are owned or leased by the POA or are encumbered by easements in favor of the POA.

These parcels and areas do not include the Exit 6 bridge, the water system easements or the Metro Operations Center which are held and operated by the Santa Fe Trail Ranch Metro District. The parcels and areas also do not include the roads within the Santa Fe Trail Ranch subdivision. The roads are the responsibility of the POA Road Committee.

These parcels and areas do include, but are not limited to, the Conservancy Parcels, being parcels J-6 through J-10, owned by The Santa Fe Trail Ranch Conservancy LLC (no connection to the POA), the areas used for the community mailboxes, and the areas used for the community trash dumpsters.

The Conservancy Parcels are encumbered by a comprehensive Conservation Easement held by The Greenlands Reserve, a charitable nonprofit Colorado corporation, and leased to the POA via a long term lease.

The Conservancy Parcels possess natural, scenic, open space, wildlife, aesthetic, ecological and environmental values which are deemed worthy of protection in perpetuity. Within Gallinas Canyon, the Conservancy Parcels include the riparian corridor formed by Gallinas Creek. Wildlife found within the Conservancy Parcels include, but are not limited to, deer, elk, bears, mountain lions, Stellar jays, red-tailed hawks and many other bird species.

The Conservancy Parcels contain two plant communities identified as “sensitive” by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program. These two communities are the narrow leaf cottonwood-juniper riparian forest and the ponderosa pine-gamble oak woodlands.

The purpose of the conservation easement that encumbers the Conservancy Parcels is to assure that the property will be retained forever predominately in its natural, scenic, forested, and open space condition to preserve and protect in perpetuity the wildlife, aesthetic, ecological and environmental values as well as the forestry and water quality characteristics of the property and to prevent any use of the property that will impair or interfere with the conservation values of the property. There is no hunting, commercial use, or vehicular use allowed without prior written permission. Cattle grazing is allowed under both the terms of the conservation easement and the lease as is hiking and equestrian uses.

The Common Area Committee conducts activities, such as noxious weed control, that are in accord with the terms of its lease and the stated purposes of the conservation easement. Members of our community who are interested to helping to manage, study, and protect the Conservancy Parcels are encouraged to contact the chairperson of the Common Area Committee as assistance is always appreciated.