Colorado Cattlemen Honor Livingston Ranch

The Colorado Cattlemen's Association honored the recipients of the annual Leopold Conservation Award at its 152nd Annual Convention.

Association Vice President Terry Frankhauser says the Leopold Conservation Award created by the Sand County Foundation recognizes exceptional farmers, ranchers and foresters in the name of the highly regarded conservationist Aldo Leopold.

But he says it was not about asking people to change. The recipients Mike and Julie Livingston faced huge odds on their Stratton area ranch that were made worse in 2003 when a lawsuit took away their access to water for irrigation. Three years later a historic drought took hold

Frankhauser says the Livingstons converted their crop land back to livestock production that took years of education and hard work.

They did it with a tremendous conservation ethic. They adjusted all their management in order to get that ecosystem functioning back as a native grass area. Their management was very holistic in the sense that they needed an income from the land but they also needed that land to flourish and survive as it had before it became cropland.

The Livingstons were presented with the $10,000 award at the Colorado Cattlemen's Association's 2019 Annual Convention in Steamboat Springs.