Wildfire mitigation
Fuels reduction and forest thinning carried out with trained crews across the property.
See the project
Sylvan Dale Legacy
Land. Conservation. Legacy.
The Land EnduresA nonprofit landholding and stewardship organization
Sylvan Dale Legacy exists for the long-term ownership, conservation, protection, and responsible stewardship of land and enduring resources in support of charitable purposes. Its work is ecological and practical: habitat, water, forests, grasslands, wildfire resilience, and the management that keeps a landscape whole.
The organization is structured to hold and care for resources that outlast any single program cycle, including land, conservation interests, water resources, historic resources, infrastructure, and the stewardship capacity required to look after them.
These are the landscapes that make Heart-J Center's education and stewardship programs possible. Most of the 960 acres are protected by conservation easements held by Larimer County and Colorado Open Lands.
Land across the greater Sylvan Dale landscape is held by separate owners, including Heart-J Center, Sylvan Dale Legacy, and Sylvan Dale Ranch LLP, a private ranch operating company. Program access is not ownership, and maps show these categories separately.
One landscape.
Two complementary roles.
Heart-J Center
People. Place. Purpose.
Experiential education and programs connecting people with land through learning, stewardship, community, and direct experience.
Sylvan Dale Legacy
Land. Conservation. Legacy.
Long-term ownership, conservation, protection, and stewardship of land and enduring resources in support of charitable purposes.
Together, the organizations create a durable relationship between protecting place and connecting people to it.
What long-term stewardship actually involves
Habitat & Wildlife
Elk, bighorn, raptors, and river species depend on unbroken ground. Habitat work is planned around what actually lives here.
Water & Watershed
Riparian restoration, streambank stability, and water sources for wildlife along the Big Thompson and Cedar Creek drainages.
Forests & Grasslands
Thinning, fuels reduction, weed management, and grazing planning that keep both timber and open country healthy.
Wildfire Recovery & Resilience
Mitigation before fire and restoration after it, carried out with crews, agencies, and neighbors across property lines.
Responsible Access
Access is real but managed. Education, research, and stewardship programs are matched to what the land can carry.
Intergenerational Stewardship
Decisions are measured in decades. What is protected now should still be intact and cared for generations from now.
Conservation Easements
Permanent protection, ongoing responsibility
A conservation easement is a permanent legal agreement that limits development and protects a property's natural, scenic, and habitat values. It does not transfer ownership. Conservation easements provide permanent protection. The land remains privately owned, and the landowner remains responsible for its stewardship.
Conservation easements on these lands are held by Larimer County and Colorado Open Lands. Their representatives monitor the property regularly to confirm the protected values remain intact.
- Land ownership
- Ownership across the greater Sylvan Dale landscape is held separately by Heart-J Center, Sylvan Dale Legacy, and Sylvan Dale Ranch LLP, a private ranch operating company. These are distinct owners, and the maps reflect that.
- Easement holders
- Larimer County and Colorado Open Lands hold and enforce the easements. Landowners remain responsible for day-to-day stewardship.
Where this work happens
An illustrated view of the conserved lands, the working valley, and the backcountry stewardship ground above Cedar Creek. Ownership categories are shown separately.
960
Acres stewarded
100%
Heart-J Center acres under conservation easement
2014
Stewarding this land since
Parcel boundaries and waterways adapted from the 2022 Sylvan Dale Ranch land conservation map. Easements held by Larimer County and Colorado Open Lands.
Experiential Education · Conservation · Community Resilience
Explore the map
One landscape, valley floor to backcountry ridgeline.
Hover or tap a marker to learn what happens there. From the backcountry ridges down to the valley floor, every acre carries a piece of the mission.
Invest in the landscape
Gifts directed to land and legacy support conservation, habitat, water, restoration, wildfire resilience, and the long-term stewardship capacity required to care for protected ground over generations.
Contact us to discuss significant conservation, land, legacy, or restricted gifts.
These lands matter. Sylvan Dale Legacy exists to steward them responsibly, for longer than any of us will be here to see it.
Explore the Living Landscape