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Tucked into every corner of the Colorado landscape are places where legends still live. The ranches of the West, and the ranchers who run them, embody what is true about America, and what we Americans want to be true: self sufficiency, determination, independence, competence, fearlessness, and an abiding reverence for the land that has blessed us with abundance and opportunity.
These ranches tell of a life that is fast disappearing. There is pressure to sell out to developers for ski areas and vacation homes and shopping centers. There are children who, legacy or not, no longer want to make a living from the land. And there are taxes that can threaten to take away what has been in the family for generations. As we watch the complex struggle of these ranchers to maintain a life that is slipping away, we also witness the inspiring way in which people are coming together to protect it.
In 2007 and 2008 John Fielder traveled to photograph 50 of Colorado’s most beautiful multi-generational working cattle ranches, most already protected from development. The resulting book Ranches of Colorado will play a part in the protection of other ranches. The project is a partnership of Fielder, Colorado’s preeiminent outdoor photographer, and the Colorado land trust community including Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust, Colorado Open Lands, and the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts. These organizations earn royalties from each copy of the book sold.
The Book: Ranches of Colorado
Publication Date: October 5, 2009
16” x 12” simulated leather cover with a barnwood-like inlay
232 pages, 375 photographs of 50 Colorado ranches
Essays by the late James Meadow based on interviews with 10 ranch families
Retail price: $95, available at all book and gift retailers
Published by Westcliffe Publishers, a Big Earth Publishing company
The Slide Show Tour: Ranches of Colorado
Beginning October 5, 2009
The slide show will include over 250 of the project photographs and John will tell stories about his experiences working with these remarkable ranchers and exploring their ranches. Both book and slide show will be used to rally support for the use of conservation easements to save ranches by encouraging other ranch owners to do the same, and to raise funds to purchase development rights from ranchers so that these lands can remain in ranching in perpetuity. John will visit 25 Colorado communities in the fall of 2009 alone.
The Photography Exhibit: Ranches of Colorado
Opening October 3, 2009
John Fielder’s Colorado gallery will exhibit 50 large format fine art prints from the project beginning in October, 2009. The gallery is located at 833 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, Colorado in Denver’s Art-District on Santa Fe.
John Fielder is available for interviews by phone or e-mail.
Contact John directly at john@johnfielder.com or call 303-907-2179.
To contact the publisher: 303-541-1506 Linda Doyle
For additional information about the project, including John’s complete schedule of slide shows and book signings, visit www.johnfielder.com.
For information about the book and specific events, contact alena@johnfielder.com.
For information about the exhibit, contact rachel@johnfielder.com
For information about the project partners contact: Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust, Alyssa Schneider: aschneider@ccalt.org
Colorado Open Lands, Cheryl Fox: cfox@coloradoopenlands.org
Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts, Jeannie McGinnis: jeannie.mcginnis@cclt.org