BRUMLEY ASPEN WATERS RANCH
Dunton, Colorado
$12,982,500 | 4,120± Acres
Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch | Dunton, Colorado
INTRODUCTION
The meadows of Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch rise gently from the shores of Groundhog Reservoir to dense aspen and dark timber forests, enjoying a 3.5-mile boundary with thousands of acres of San Juan National Forest. The assembly of the ranch began in 1900 and has never left the family’s hands. It is rare to find a ranch so raw in the beauty that has remained with one family owner for this length of time.
The abundance of water, massive aspen groves, dark timber, plentiful elk herds, quality grazing, and beautiful scenic views make the ranch unique. Numerous ponds dot the land, and at least two creeks cross the ranch. Beaver ponds have created a fishery that the next owner can enhance. Groundhog Creek is a year-round stream that feeds into Groundhog Reservoir, a designated Colorado State Wildlife Area.
The ranch backdrop features two iconic Colorado mountains, Lone Cone Peak and Groundhog Mountain, both over 12,000 feet in elevation. The lush grass and numerous watering holes allow the grazing of up to 400 yearlings each summer should the owner decide to do so.
Wildlife is plentiful, and the ranch is well known as an elk calving ground; each spring, hundreds of cow elk make their way down from the forest into the lush meadows of the ranch to birth their offspring. Of course, the bull elk follow in the fall, and the hunting and wildlife viewing is world-class.
A new three-bedroom and loft home is nicely finished and has great views. Located near the house are an older cabin and workshop. The Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch is a special offering looking for its next steward.
QUICK FACTS
• 4,120± Acres
• Live water creek and ponds
• Grazing and hunting lease income, if desired
• A diverse landscape of meadows, aspens, dark timber
• Liberal conservation easement with four building envelopes
• New, nicely finished home and older cabin
• Stunning views of Lone Cone and Groundhog Peaks
• Large elk population
• Adjoins Groundhog Reservoir State Park
• 3.5-mile border with the San Juan National Forest
Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch
Dunton, Colorado
LOCATION
The Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch is located approximately fifty minutes northeast of Dolores, Colorado, and the same distance south of Norwood, Colorado, via county and forest service roads. Access in the winter is limited, but the ranch may be accessed by snow machines in the depths of winter. Some yearround residents live in the area. The ranch ranges in elevation from approximately 8,700 feet to 10,200 feet.
4 Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch | Dunton, Colorado
GETTING THERE
From Dolores, the ranch may be accessed via County Road 31 and Forest Service Roads 533 and 526. From Norwood, several county roads will connect to Forest Service Roads 533 and 526.
AIRPORT SERVICES
The nearest airports offering commercial service are in Cortez, approximately 90 minutes from the ranch, or Durango, about two hours from the ranch. Airports in Montrose and Grand Junction are further but offer more extensive flight options.
RANCH & AREA HISTORY
Irvin W. Brumley founded the Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch in the early 1900s. He began by buying steers from the Mormon settlers in Bluff, Utah, and driving the cattle back to Colorado. Irvin later added to the herd by purchasing the cow/calf herd from his deceased father-in-law’s estate. He acquired land by buying homesteads in several areas near Groundhog Reservoir and eventually the current ranch, which was used as a summer grazing range. After WWII, Irvin and his son Wilson Brumley formed Brumley Land and Livestock, Inc. They converted the operation into a sheep ranch. Eventually, the ranch passed to Wilson and then to his four children.
The 590 surface acre Groundhog Reservoir adjacent to the ranch was constructed in 1905.
6 Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch | Dunton, Colorado
The southwestern corner of Colorado is part of the Four Corners Region, where four states meet: Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. The area is famous for the ancient civilization that once inhabited the region. There was a substantial population as early as 2500 BC, and they left behind multiple ruins and evidence of their existence. The area around the ranch probably served as an area for hunting and summer camps.
The area around the ranch was once frequented by Anglo trappers as early as the early 1800s. Gold and silver mining drove employment in the late 1800s. Most mining was near the Dolores River, the only river in the world that flows south before it turns and flows north.
Mesa Verde
ACREAGE
• 4,120± total acres
The ranch is a diverse mixture of meadows with rich grass, aspen forests, dark timber spruce/pine forests, and creek bottom. The diversity lends itself to a multitude of uses and activities.
8 Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch | Dunton, Colorado
TIMBERLAND
• 1,000± acres of aspen
The ranch’s aspen have been timbered in the past; currently, a nice mixture of new and old growth aspen could be harvested. One of the ranch owners previously owned a mill nearby that produced aspen tongue and groove paneling from the trees on the ranch.
10 Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch | Dunton, Colorado
SCENIC VISTAS
The ranch backdrop features Lone Cone Peak and Groundhog Mountain with beautiful views of Groundhog Reservoir to the west. Aspen, spruce, and pine forests outline the ranch views.
12 Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch | Dunton, Colorado
Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch | Dunton, Colorado
CLIMATE
The ranch enjoys the benefits of cool spring, summer, and fall Colorado mountain weather. There is plenty of snowfall in the winter, making access more difficult but allowing the owners to enjoy winter sports.
Climate data for Rico, Colorado courtesy of http://www.city-data.com/city/Rico-Colorado.html
IMPROVEMENTS
A charming newer home is situated to allow beautiful sunset views over Groundhog Reservoir. The interior features aspen paneling from trees on the ranch in a local mill. There are two bedrooms and a loft sleeping area. Nearby in an aspen grove is an older cabin currently in use. A large shop serves the ranch well with plenty of space for the equipment needed to operate and enjoy a ranch of this size. Three more undefined building envelopes may be identified on the ranch for future residences and outbuildings.
Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch | Dunton, Colorado
RECREATION
The ranch offers the opportunity to enjoy all that Colorado is known for. Mountain biking, hiking, boating, fishing, hunting, four-wheeling, snowmobiling, ski touring, wildlife viewing, horseback trail riding, and dark skies at night are possible on or from the ranch.
Hundreds of cow elk come to the ranch meadows in the spring to give birth to their calves. In late summer and fall, the big bull elk come down to start the cycle again, and the ranch comes alive with bugling bulls in the early mornings and evenings. Mule deer hunting on the ranch cannot be overlooked as they are healthy and plentiful. Black bears, wild turkeys, and mountain lions are also on and about the ranch offering other hunting or viewing opportunities.
H unting & W ildlife
20 Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch | Dunton, Colorado
One of the family members loves to fish the ranch, specifically Groundhog Creek’s ponds. There are multiple beaver ponds along the creek and deeper pools in the upper reaches. Additionally, there are a couple of other ponds that can hold fish. The ranch borders Groundhog Reservoir, known for its rainbow and cutthroat fishing. The world record 2-pound and 4-pound line-class rainbow trout were taken from the reservoir.
22 Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch | Dunton, Colorado
The best recreation available is a tour of the ranch itself. Take a nature tour of your 4,200± acre wildlife preserve. And there are many ways to see the ranch. Pick your mode: horse, bike, four-wheeler, by foot, snow machine, skis, or trail bike. Bring your camera, lunch, and water and enjoy the nature show.
NEARBY ATTRACTIONS & ACTIVITIES
The “Four Corners” region offers many Native American cultural sites that may be visited on day trips. Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez Cultural Center, Canyon of the Ancients, and Yucca House National Monument are several interesting sites within an hour and a half from the ranch. A little further away but still accessible on a day trip are Bisti /De-Na-Zin Badlands and Chaco Canyon. If history isn’t your thing, then a day trip to Telluride to enjoy all that modern Colorado mountain culture has to offer may be up your alley. Known for world-class skiing, several music/ film festivals, exquisite dining, and other exceptional outdoor activities, the old mining town of Telluride is undoubtedly a great place to visit and not that distant from the ranch.
Telluride, Colorado
Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch | Dunton, Colorado
INCOME OPPORTUNITY
The ranch offers several income opportunities allowed in the conservation easement. Currently, the owners have two cattle grazing leases and a hunting lease. Three to four hundred yearlings are grazed on those leases during the summer. Previously the ranch owners timbered the aspen forests sending the harvest to a nearby mill.
WATER SOURCES
The Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch is on the 590± acre Groundhog Reservoir’s shores, allowing boats up to 18 feet and motors up to 30 horsepower. Year-round live water Groundhog Creek flows through the ranch’s breadth from east to west. Multiple spring-fed ponds, beaver ponds, dirt stock tanks, and at least one other seasonal creek dot the ranch. A very productive spring provides water to the existing residences.
26 Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch | Dunton, Colorado
MINERAL RIGHTS
All mineral rights appurtenant to the property and owned by the Seller will convey to the Buyer at closing. Mineral rights are not guaranteed. It is suggested that the Buyer conduct a mineral search with a title company.
28 Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch | Dunton, Colorado
CONSERVATION | STEWARDSHIP
Each of us at Fay Ranches loves the land and wants to see it remain productive agricultural ground and quality fish and wildlife habitat. Through promoting the use of thoughtful land stewardship, Fay Ranches has guided owners toward a legacy of conserving wide-open spaces, enhancing and creating fisheries and wildlife habitats, and implementing sustainable agricultural operations. Fay Ranches is proud to say that since our company began in 1992, our clients’ conservation ethic and land-use practices have significantly enhanced the landscape on which we work.
The family patriarch felt strongly that the ranch should remain intact and not be subdivided. His love for the land and the wildlife inspired him to grant a conservation easement literally days before his passing in 2008.
Clearly, his motivation for the easement was not financial but rather to protect the legacy of the ranch, thus honoring a family treasure that began in the early 1900s. The easement itself is less restrictive than most, allowing commercial hunting leases, grazing leases, and commercial timbering. Additionally, the easement allows for four building envelopes, and to date, only one has been defined. This allows unprecedented flexibility for the new owner in choosing additional homesites. The existing building envelope contains a new home, an older cabin, and a workshop.
SUMMARY
Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch is the perfect example of a Colorado high mountain ranch. Vast aspen groves, dark timber spruce, and fir stands grace the hillsides and higher ranch elevations. The expansive meadows with live water creeks stretch up from the shores of Groundhog Reservoir and offer lush mountain grass for grazing cattle and calving elk moms. A thoughtful conservation easement protects the property and provides excellent flexibility for future owners, allowing commercial hunting, grazing, timbering, and several future homesite locations. The fishery on the ranch is good and is just waiting
Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch | Dunton, Colorado
to be developed further by future owners. The elk hunting is nothing less than stupendous, and world record line class rainbow trout have been caught in Groundhog Reservoir. A three-and-a-half-mile border with the San Juan National Forest makes this already very large ranch seem enormous. A lovely newer home and an older cabin provide plenty of living space. Bring your bike, rifle, fly-rod, binoculars, canoe, fishing boat, hiking boots, four-wheeler, or camera and experience the best in a Colorado ranch.
$12,982,500
Cash, Conventional Financing, 1031 Tax Exchange
Please contact Jim Vidamour at (719) 890-4590 | jvidamour@fayranches.com to schedule a showing. This is an exclusive listing. An agent from Fay Ranches must be present at all showings, unless otherwise noted or other arrangements are made. To view other properties, fly fishing properties, and sporting ranches that we have listed, please visit our web page at www.fayranches.com .
PRICE TERMS CONTACT NOTICE
Offer is subject to errors, omissions, prior sale, change or withdrawal without notice, and approval of purchase by owner. Information regarding land classification, carrying capacities, maps, etc., is intended only as a general guideline and has been provided by the owners and other sources deemed reliable, but the accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Prospective purchasers are encouraged to research the information to their own satisfaction.
Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch | Dunton, Colorado
Brumley Aspen Waters Ranch | Dunton, Colorado
The printed portions of this form, except differentiated additions, have been approved by the Colorado Real Estate Commission. (DD25-5-09) (Mandatory 7-09)
DIFFERENT BROKERAGE RELATIONSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE WHICH INCLUDE SELLER AGENCY, BUYER AGENCY OR TRANSACTIONBROKERAGE.
DEFINITIONS OF WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
For purposes of this document, seller also means “landlord” (which includes sublandlord) and buyer also means “tenant” (which includes subtenant).
Seller’s Agent: A seller’s agent (or listing agent) works solely on behalf of the seller to promote the interests of the seller with the utmost good faith, loyalty and fidelity. The agent negotiates on behalf of and acts as an advocate for the seller. The seller’s agent must disclose to potential buyers all adverse material facts actually known by the seller’s agent about the property. A separate written listing agreement is required which sets forth the duties and obligations of the broker and the seller.
Buyer’s Agent: A buyer’s agent works solely on behalf of the buyer to promote the interests of the buyer with the utmost good faith, loyalty and fidelity. The agent negotiates on behalf of and acts as an advocate for the buyer. The buyer’s agent must disclose to potential sellers all adverse material facts actually known by the buyer’s agent including the buyer’s financial ability to perform the terms of the transaction and, if a residential property, whether the buyer intends to occupy the property. A separate written buyer agency agreement is required which sets forth the duties and obligations of the broker and the buyer.
Transaction-Broker: A transaction-broker assists the buyer or seller or both throughout a real estate transaction by performing terms of any written or oral agreement, fully informing the parties, presenting all offers and assisting the parties with any contracts, including the closing of the transaction without being an agent or advocate for any of the parties. A transaction-broker must use reasonable skill and care in the performance of any oral or written agreement, and must make the same disclosures as agents about all adverse material facts actually known by the transaction-broker concerning a property or a buyer’s financial ability to perform the terms of a transaction and, if a residential property, whether the buyer intends to occupy the property. No written agreement is required.
Customer: A customer is a party to a real estate transaction with whom the broker has no brokerage relationship because such party has not engaged or employed the broker, either as the party’s agent or as the party’s transaction-broker.
