Pitkin County approves funding mechanism for Three Meadows Ranch management

Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners approved a Memorandum of Understanding on Wednesday so the county could jointly fund the management of Three Meadows Ranch with Eagle County.

Three Meadows Ranch, a 4,251-acre property located in Missouri Heights along Cottonwood Pass in Eagle County, was acquired by both counties and Aspen Valley Land Trust in 2025 in order to protect it from development.

“Without this intervention, the landscape faced certain fragmentation that would have permanently altered the region’s character and severed vital wildlife movement between public and private lands,” Marcia Gilles, director of Open Space and Natural Resources for Eagle County, previously told The Aspen Times.

Dubbed a haven for elk in particular, both counties and AVLT are now co-managing the property until a long-term management plan is completed.

“As you all know, we made a legacy purchase last year for Three Meadows Ranch,” Gary Tennenbaum, Pitkin County Open Space and Trails director, told commissioners May 13. “We have a great partnership.”

Until the final management plan is complete, however, Eagle County is requesting the Memorandum of Understanding in order to define the partnership and outline how near-term management decisions will be made — specifically with funding.

“It’s just a funding mechanism,” Tennenbaum told The Aspen Times. “Governments need intergovernmental agreements to be able to pay each other for services … We’re splitting the cost of all the management.”

This means if Pitkin County takes responsibility for a contract for fencing replacement, they would pay the contractor and Eagle County would pay Pitkin County back in order to split the cost, or vice versa.

The aim of the memorandum is to set forth each partner’s commitment to the funding for managing Three Meadows Ranch, not to request any additional funding at this time. Currently, all the 2026 projects have been included and adopted into the 2026 Open Space and Trails budget, according to a staff report.

Commissioner Greg Poschman asked if there’s any idea what it will ultimately cost to own this piece of property annually, but Tennenbaum said it’s going to take a bit of time to fully understand what that number looks like.

“It’s not as much as we originally thought,” Tennenbaum said. “The property is actually in really good shape overall … It’s not as expensive as we thought.”

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Tennenbaum highlighted one of the most expensive costs this year will be to replace extensive sections of fencing that’s in “really poor shape.” Replacing the fencing will help ensure that the cows on neighboring properties don’t enter Three Meadows Ranch, and that if Three Meadows Ranch ever acquired its own cows that they wouldn’t wander onto neighboring properties.

Tennenbaum also noted some weed management is necessary, but overall the property doesn’t have a list of glaring issues.

“The property is in great shape,” Tennenbaum reiterated The Aspen Times.

Pitkin County will continue to work on learning the property and its management needs this year, including learning about the wildlife that utilize it and the vegetation present. At some point, there will also be a historical review of the land from Native American usage through today, Tennenbaum confirmed.

“Right now, we’re still in a learning phase,” he said.

According to Tennenbaum, it will probably take another year before a long-term management plan can be drafted.

Commissioners unanimously approved the Memorandum of Understanding on its first reading. It is currently set for second reading and public hearing on May 27.