Please join us this Friday, June 20th, 7–10 PM, for an unforgettable viewing party of a rare local population of fireflies on a conserved property.
Enjoy a Mexican-style catered dinner, wine and craft beer, and live firefly science with a professor from Fort Lewis College.
Experience the glow, support conservation, and help give local youth a night they will never forget.
Limited tickets left!
Please visit www.lposc.org for more information. Click link below picture to purchase admission.
Special thanks to Sunnyside Farms, Carver Brewing Company, and our corporate sponsor, Clearnetworx.
This event directly supports LPOSC and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Colorado.
Join La Plata Open Space Conservancy for an unforgettable evening beneath the stars at Sunnyside Farm, a privately conserved property generously hosted by Jerry and Karen Zink. This rare and intimate event offers you the chance to witness one of Colorado’s most magical sights, fireflies! Enjoy a catered dinner, local beer donated by Carver Brewing Company, wine donated by Sunnyside Farms Market, and hear from a featured firefly expert from Fort Lewis College.
Space is limited! Full event details and address will be emailed to admission purchasers.
Your Impact: Your admission not only supports our conservation mission, but you are helping protect rare wetland habitats, raise awareness about the importance of insects in healthy ecosystems, and inspire the next generation of conservation stewards.
Thanks to your support, local youth and their mentors from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Colorado, will attend a special firefly BBQ and viewing the following night, offering them the same magical experience.
Fireflies in Colorado? Learn more: Colorado Sun article or Fireflies
Special thanks also to our corporate sponsor, Clearnetworx.
Last call for tickets to Cocktails for Conservation!
Complimentary with your ticket:
Craft beverages + a special signature drink
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Truffles
Hors d’Oeuvres
Live Music
Silent Auction
Prizes
All proceeds from this popular event support LPOSC’s work to conserve Southwest Colorado’s land, water, and way of life.
Cocktails for Conservation is a lively, elegant event featuring local and craft beverages, chocolate truffles, hors d’oeuvres, live music, and a silent auction. All proceeds from this popular event support LPOSC’s work to conserve Southwest Colorado’s land, water, and way of life.
Kick off your 46th annual Snowdown Durango festivities with La Plata Open Space Conservancy!
Cocktails for Conservation is a lively, elegant event featuring local and craft beverages, chocolate truffles, hors d’oeuvres, live music, and a silent auction. All proceeds from this popular event support LPOSC’s work to conserve Southwest Colorado’s land, water, and way of life.
This event always sells out, and tickets are available only in advance – get yours today!
We are pleased to share that on Monday, December 23, La Plata Open Space Conservancy put 102 acres of land along the Florida River into conservation, adding to an existing 150-acre easement established by a local family in 2007. This accomplishment ensures that 252 acres of wildlife habitat, open space, agricultural land, and water resources are protected forever.
As we close out 2024 on a high note, we are already working on several new conservation projects for 2025. Your support makes these projects possible – thank you! On behalf of all the staff, interns, and board members at La Plata Open Space Conservancy, we wish you and your loved ones a joyful holiday season and a new year filled with peace, prosperity, and good health!
– Jen and Christy
Save the Date!
We will host our largest fundraiser, Snowdown’s Cocktails for Conservation, on Thursday, January 30th! Ticket sales will be announced in our newsletter in early January.
Enjoy a few highlights of our year below:
La Plata Open Space Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Your gift may be tax deductible. Our EIN number is: 84-1204273.
To contribute, go to: lposc.org/donate-today/
or mail a check to the address below. Thank you!
Colorado Gives Day is Colorado’s biggest day of giving, and we need your support to protect our cherished open spaces. Be a part of something special and make your Colorado Gives Day donation today! Your donation helps us conserve Southwest Colorado’s land, water, and way of life. LPOSC proudly safeguards over 22,000 acres of scenic vistas, critical wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, agricultural lands, and historical resources through its 179 conservation easements. With your help, in 2025, we will work to conserve another nearly 2,000 acres.
For another way to support LPOSC, save the date for Snowdown’s Cocktails for Conservation on Thursday, January 30th! Ticket sales will be announced in our newsletter later this month.
Thank you for helping us make 2024 a year of achievements – new conservation projects, workshops, youth programs, and internships were possible thanks to donors like you!
Thank you for your support!
La Plata Open Space Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Your gift may be tax deductible. Our EIN number is: 84-1204273.
To contribute, go to: lposc.org/donate-today/
or mail a check to the address below. Thank you!
Protect the outdoor places you love in southwest Colorado by supporting La Plata Open Space Conservancy (LPOSC) this Colorado Gives Day! Your gift will directly support LPOSC’s mission to permanently protect open lands that are vital for agriculture, wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation, and preserving our local history.
Every donation you make to LPOSC from November 1 through December 10 will go even further, thanks to a $1M + Incentive Fund generously provided by the Colorado Gives Foundation and FirstBank. Each participating nonprofit will receive a share of this fund, based on the total donations they raise—meaning your support has a bigger impact! Plus, if you set up a new monthly donation, the Colorado Gives Foundation will match your first monthly donation up to $100, up to $250,000 across all organizations!
Give Where You Live! Together, let us keep southwest Colorado wild, beautiful, and resilient. Thank you for being a crucial part of our work to conserve the spirit and landscape of this unique place.
LPOSC is excited to announce that we are accepting applications for the Conservation Outreach and Events Coordinator position! This crucial role directly supports our mission to conserve open spaces in Southwest Colorado through event coordination, grant writing, marketing, community engagement and conservation programming. The Coordinator will drive public outreach and visibility by planning impactful events, managing digital platforms, and supporting internal operations. This role will be integral to building relationships within the community and effectively sharing our story and conservation goals.
Does this sound like a fit for you or someone you know? Apply below!
LPOSC said farewell to its Conservation Programs Coordinator, Clara Bertany on November 1st as she began a new role in private consulting. Clara started as a Stewardship Assistant intern in fall 2023 and quickly excelled to became our Conservation Programs Assistant in the winter of 2023, and advanced into her current role in May 2024. Clara’s enthusiasm for conservation, professionalism, and outstanding GIS expertise have been invaluable to LPOSC. Clara has been a joy to work with and she will be missed. Please join us in wishing her all the best as she takes this next step in her career!
LPOSC staff, left to right, Christy Curd (Stewardship Director), Jennifer Zahratka (Executive Director), and Clara Bertany (Conservation Programs Coordinator)
Clara says, “I am consistently impressed by the remarkable work done by this committed team. LPOSC is truly a wonderful place to work, and I encourage anyone passionate about conservation and community collaboration to apply for the Conservation Outreach and Events Coordinator position!
I look forward to advancing my career in consulting and applying the GIS and water knowledge I gained during my recent graduation from Fort Lewis College, I will sincerely miss my time at LPOSC. I’m excited to keep collaborating with LPOSC in the years to come through different avenues, I love this organization and it’s mission too much to leave completely!”
Seeking New Board Members!
LPOSC is looking for innovative community members to join our board. Your local knowledge, fundraising skills, and passion for preserving Southwest Colorado can have a lasting impact on our environment and future generations.
Are you interested, or do you know someone who is? Contact us at info@lposc.org.
Protect the outdoor places you love in southwest Colorado by supporting LPOSC this Colorado Gives Day!
Every donation you make to LPOSC from November 1 through December 10 will go even further, thanks to a $1M + Incentive Fund generously provided by the Colorado Gives Foundation and FirstBank. Each participating nonprofit will receive a share of this fund, based on the total donations they raise—meaning your support has a bigger impact! Plus, if you set up a new monthly donation, the Colorado Gives Foundation will match your first monthly donation up to $100, up to $250,000 across all organizations.
Your gift will directly support LPOSC’s mission to permanently protect open lands that are vital for agriculture, wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation, and preserving our local history.
We hosted a sold-out realtor workshop that earned participants three continuing education credits in a state-approved course on conservation easement basics for realtors and those in related professions. Wells Group Realtor Justin Osborn, along with staff from La Plata Open Space Conservancy and Tax Credit Connection, provided valuable insights into what a conservation easement is, how and why they are established, and key considerations for real estate transactions involving conservation easements.
Thanks to the generous support of our sponsor, Colorado Title & Closing Services, this course was offered at no cost to participants.
Keep an Eye Out for Our Signs!
Resident office dog, Sasha, sits next to new sign in Overend Mountain Park (Test Tracks), with large portions of the property forever conserved by LPOSC.
LPOSC is excited to debut new signs identifying some of its conserved properties around La Plata County. We are grateful for the support of the LPEA Round Up Foundation to purchase these signs, and for the landowners who proudly display them!
Interns and Technology at Work
GIS interns Sofie Hill and Derrik Echevarria testing monitoring systems at the picturesque conserved Granite Peaks Ranch.
Our GIS interns, Sofie and Derrik, tested multiple monitoring systems both in the office and in the field. They concluded that Landscape — designed specifically for land trusts — would enhance LPOSC’s monitoring capabilities and provide tools to more effectively manage properties, summarize data, and automatically generate reports. Thanks, Derrik and Sofie!
Snowdown’s Cocktails for Conservation 2025
Join us in celebrating 33 years of La Plata Open Space Conservancy at our annual Snowdown fundraiser! Cocktails for Conservation is a lively, elegant event featuring exceptional cocktails, wines, fine foods, local brews, and a silent auction. All proceeds from this popular event support the work by LPOSC to conserve our cherished landscapes and natural resources. Join us for a game-filled night while making a positive impact in our community.
We cordially invite YOU to sponsor this year’s wonderful event.
Jon, pictured top left, at LPOSC’s Spirit of the Southwest event in May 2022.
We offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Jon Abshagen in the wake of his recent passing. Jon and his family have been supporters of LPOSC for many years, and we were privileged to have Jon serve on our board from 2011 to 2014. We were honored to receive a generous donation in his memory, a testament to the profound impact he had on our community.
A GoFundMe page has been established to celebrate and memorialize Jon’s remarkable life.
La Plata Open Space Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Your gift may be tax deductible. Our EIN number is: 84-1204273.
To contribute, go to: lposc.org/donate-today/
or mail a check to the address below. Thank you!
Preserving Legacy: Enhancing Conservation at Parelli Ranch
Over the past year, LPOSC worked to complete a project enhancing conservation protections on an existing conservation easement. The conservation easement on the 212-acre Parelli Ranch, which was home to Pat Parelli’s renowned Parelli Natural Horsemanship for nearly the last 30 years, was established to protect the property’s wildlife habitat, agricultural lands, scenic qualities and educational opportunities. As a result of LPOSC’s recent work, over 25 acres of the ranch has been excluded from future development to improve protections for the property’s unique qualities. Although the ranch has recently sold, Parelli’s legacy will live on in perpetuity through the conservation easement.
Upcoming Events
Attention realtors!
Earn three continuing education credits in this state-approved course on conservation easement basics for realtors and those in related professions. Wells Group Realtor Justin Osborn and staff from La Plata Open Space Conservancy and Tax Credit Connection will help you understand what a conservation easement is, how and why they are established, and what to be aware of when handling a real estate transaction involving a conservation easement.
This course is free of charge, thanks to support from our generous sponsor, Colorado Title & Closing Services. Registration is required and space is limited – please register at the link below.
Earlier this month, LPOSC welcomed interns Derrik Echevarria and Sofie Hill. Thanks to generous funding from the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office, LPOSC is welcoming three interns this fall from Fort Lewis College to work on various projects and research for the organization while providing valuable job training experience for those seeking career pathways in the outdoor sector.
Derrik and Sofie will serve as ‘Stewardship Assistants’ helping monitor LPOSC conserved properties with high recreation uses and assist with various GIS projects.
Sofie Hills says, “My name is Sofie and I am a Junior at Fort Lewis College. I am extremely passionate about the outdoors and adventuring wherever I can. I love to bike and run on all the trails in Durango and want to help preserve these areas!”
Derrik Echevarria says, “There is peace in the wind and inspiration in the stars, if we only take the time to listen. My name is Derrik Echevarria, I am a senior at Fort Lewis College studying Environmental Science. I am returning to school in my 30’s to actualize my desire to build a career in conservation. I’ve spent so much time planning hikes or experiencing new places and have been enjoying building my education around preserving the natural world that I enjoy so much. I am excited for the opportunity this internship provides and to be involved with the work that LPOSC does!”
A Wonderful Ska Anniversary Party and Brewers Invitational
LPOSC staff stands next to 10.5′ Rio Craft Raft that was raffled off. (Left to right) Christy Curd (Stewardship Director), Jennifer Zahratka (Executive Director), and Clara Bertany (Conservation Programs Coordinator)
LPOSC was thrilled to be the recipient of Ska Brewing’s Anniversary Party and Brewers Invitational. We want to express our heartfelt thanks to Ska Brewing, our sponsors, and everyone who stopped by to chat with us, purchase ska-themed hats, and buy raffle tickets!
Our raffle was a success, and we’re happy to announce that Scott from Parachute, Colorado, was the lucky winner of the prized Rio Craft Raft.
Scott says, “Probably a week beforehand I was looking to actually purchase a raft. I saw the opportunity to enter into the raffle. When I got the phone call saying I won the raft I was so happy, I had to call my mother and tell her. I am so excited to get out on the water! I’m planning on going to guide school very soon so this will help me out big time!
Huge Thanks to Jennifer and La Plata Open Space Conservancy. Support Open Spaces!”
Business Partner Highlight: Momentum Tree Experts
Is your property in need of forest management with an eye towards restoration? Do you have an iconic tree you’d like to preserve? Whether you have one tree or a large forest, Momentum Tree Experts is our recommended tree service company. With their attention to wildlife habitat improvement and overall ecosystem enhancement, they are a great choice for private lands – whether conserved or not. Plus, Momentum generously contributes a portion of its proceeds to LPOSC, making your investment beneficial for the community as well.