Soapstone Prairie Natural Area

Photo Courtesy Charlie Johnson

Soapstone Facts:

Location: 25 miles north of the city of Fort Collins, south of the Colorado/Wyoming border.

Size: 18,728 deeded acres (an area greater than 29 square miles)

Purchase Cost: $11.1 million, or $590/acre (urban natural areas such as Cathy Fromme Prairie cost over $5000/acre)

Funding Source: Sales tax revenues from the citizen initiated ballot measures such as Open Space Yes! and the City's portion of Larimer County's - Help Preserve Open Space initiatives. These revenue sources are dedicated to the City's Natural Areas Program.

Conservation Values:

• Natural - Relatively undisturbed shortgrass and mixed-grass prairie, wetlands, riparian areas, and shrublands that provide prime essential wildlife habitat for migrating, as well as resident, wildlife
• Recreation - Hiking, biking, horseback riding, wildlife watching, picnicking and relaxing
• Scenic - Fantastic views of the high plains steppe to the east, Fort Collins to the south, and foothills and the Mummy Range to the west.
• Agricultural - Ranching heritage- this land has been used for sheep and cattle grazing for ~120 years.
• Geological - Cliffs, unique rock formations, canyons, arroyos, intermittent streams, springs and dry washes.
• Archaeological - Lindenmeier Site, a registered National Historic Landmark, is one of the most important early man sites in North America

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Management Planning and Public Input

Why was Soapstone Prairie Natural Area Purchased by the City's Natural Areas Program?

• The Building Community Choices and the Open Space Yes! citizen sales tax initiatives direct the City to pursue "regional" land conservation. Soapstone is in an area identified by City Council in April 2003 as a high priority resource focus area.
• Public input gathered in 2003 supported protecting regional natural areas, including the area where Soapstone Prairie is located.
• Conservation of Soapstone Prairie was a "once-ever" opportunity. It may have been either impossible or too costly to have conserved it in the future.
• Soapstone Prairie Natural Area will provide outstanding recreation opportunities on a very large scale. While our wonderful local natural areas currently provide over 25 miles of soft trails, as Fort Collins doubles in population over the next 20 to 30 years, regional natural areas such as Soapstone will help meet the community's growing recreation needs.
• Soapstone Prairie Natural Area is an essential piece of the Laramie Foothills Mountains to Plains Project. This joint effort by the City of Fort Collins, Larimer County, The Nature Conservancy, Legacy Land Trust, Great Outdoors Colorado and other partners will conserve a large working landscape and wildlife corridor.
• Funds used to purchase the property also served as match money for a grant from GOCO for the Laramie Foothills Mountains to Plains Project. Larimer County Open Lands received an $11.6 million dollar GOCO Grant in December 2004 on behalf of the Mountains to Plains Project partnership. The original $7.3 million spent on Soapstone was leveraged to conserve ~ 50,000 acres in the Laramie Foothills area.

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Public Access

• Staff adopted a management plan (pdf) on September 25, 2007.
• Public improvements began in September 2007 and will continue through the public opening.
• Soapstone Prairie Natural Area will open to the public in 2009.
• Until then, the Natural Areas Program will provide tours (pdf). Register by calling 970-416-2815.

The mission of the City of Fort Collins' Natural Areas Program is to protect and enhance lands with existing or potential natural areas values, lands that serve as community separators, agricultural lands, and lands with scenic values. Protection of natural habitats and features is the highest priority, while providing for education and recreation for the Fort Collins community.

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