Springfest is returning on Sunday, May 19. This Aspen Valley Land Trust (AVLT) event began in 2019 and was skipped over in 2020 and 2021. For its fourth iteration, the team at AVLT has decided to drop the ticketed model and instead allow families and individuals to pay what they can to attend. Registration is requested at www.avlt.org/springfest
“We believe to fulfill our conservation mission we need to make it possible for the whole community to connect with the land, and to connect with each other on the land,” stated Jeff Davlyn, AVLT philanthropy director. AVLT has committed to pursuing accessibility and inclusion within its mission “to protect the open land and special places of the Roaring Fork and middle Colorado River valleys for wildlife, agriculture and community, forever.”
With Spanish interpretation assured, the bilingual event will bring people of all ages together for a fun day at Strang Ranch with lunch by Taquería El Yaqui, ranching demonstrations, activities for the kids and live music by Sweet Jessup and the Dirty Buckets. A complimentary shuttle service will take attendees from downtown Carbondale directly to the ranch, picking folks up at the dirt lot at 4th and Colorado across from Town Hall.
Based on the cost to AVLT for putting on the event, adults are encouraged to donate $25 each and $10 for kids under 12. “If you are able, please consider sharing the cost of this event by making a gift,” the website states. Dogs are to be left at home, given the nature of a working ranch. Coolers, chairs and blankets, however, are all welcome. Roaring Fork Hounds Pony Club, Smiling Goat Ranch, Carbondale Arts and Farm Collaborative will each bring their expertise to the party.
Strang Ranch is the ideal place to host it, protected in partnership with AVLT since 2003. The Strang family has owned the Missouri Heights property since 1965. It serves as an occasional hub for community events including the National Sheepdog Finals and boasts a panoramic view of the Elk Range. Some people may remember a “land dance” fundraiser AVLT previously hosted at this same location.
“I would say, for my mom — who’s 90 — her pleasure in life is to share that property with other people, and have other people come and enjoy it and get a taste of that kind of real ranching existence,” said Scott Strang. “It’s always been important to us as a family.”
Scott is proud to be transitioning a sod farm on the ranch to more of a regenerative model this year. “I’ve always hated the sod farm, just from the standpoint of ecology,” he told The Sopris Sun. “Sod farming is not really farming. It’s more like strip mining. You’re selling your topsoil, which any self-respecting farmer would never do.”
After 47 years of growing bluegrass, over 40 acres will be carefully coaxed back to health. “To me, ‘regenerative ag’ is kind of a buzzword,” Scott said. He understands it to mean responsible grazing management and the use of permaculture principles, and he will rely on local experts for help.
Regarding the conservation easement, he said that between his siblings and mother, “we were extremely invested in the idea that the place would never become a subdivision.” It wasn’t an easy process, but AVLT helped the Strangs acquire sellable tax credits which convinced his father to get onboard with the plan. Scott has strong feelings about keeping the ranch in agriculture and “raising kids in that way of life” which he described as an intimacy with the landscape, seasons and livestock. This “produces a kind of person that society needs,” he said.
In his view, conservation easements are “a way for farmers to keep farming without having to look at ‘the final option.’” He offered a cynical joke, “The last crop a farm ever produces is a subdivision.”
In 2022, AVLT set the goal of helping to conserve more than 40,000 acres in 10 years. In 2023 alone, the nonprofit was able to count 1,100 acres toward that aim. “We think the world of AVLT,” said Scott. “Their work is so important.”
As Carly Bolliger, AVLT communication and engagement director, summarized, “It’s a feel-good, lovely event to kick off the summer.” For special accommodations or questions, Bolliger can be reached at carly@avlt.org or 970-963-8440.
In a nutshell:
When: May 19, 11am to 2pm
Where: Strang Ranch, 393 Cty. Rd. 102
Why: In celebration of local agriculture
Cost: Recommended donation of $25 for adults, $10 for kids under 12
Tickets: www.avlt.org/springfest.html
