MyHouse Magazine
Distinct Developments of the West - Maytag Mountain Ranch
September / October 2005
Family ranches are quickly going the way of the buffalo, and thus, so is the iconic American cowboy. Thanks to one visionary rancher in Southern Colorado, the Maytag Mountain Ranch Development in Hillside offers a chance to return to simpler times.
Russ and Jeannie Maytag spent 25 years ranching in the West Mountain Valley on land nested up against the majestic Sangre de Cristo Mountain. Russ's approach to ranching was to raise grass-fed cattle using no pesticides, hormones, or antibiotics. Russ is one of the few ranchers who figured out how to make a profit running cattle - but it was all-consuming and marginal some years. He knew his land was valuable, and yearned for some liquidity. With nearly 3,000 acre parcels," Maytag says.
The Maytags brought on Jeff Temple, who assembled a team of land planners, ranch experts, biologists, hydrologists, grazing experts, and architects - to preserve this ranch on a sustainable basis. Temple had already successfully accomplished this at Storm Mountain Ranch in Steamboat Springs, Colorado - a project that earned the Goveror's Smart Growth Award in 1998.
At the Maytag Mountain Ranch, 27 families will be equal partners sharing in the open space, amenities, and especially in the agricultural production. Homesteads were selected that would have minimal impact on each other and on the ag operation.
Each homestead owner will own a 100-acre parcel, but can only build on and/or fence-in a limited area defined by their building envelope. The rest remains in open space for grazing, fishing, and the trail system.
The Maytag family will remain on the ranch with their new "pardners." Their daughter Samantha grew up on the ranch, and has already selected her homestead where she hopes to one day build her own home.
"When my friends come here they're impressed with things I take for granted," says Samantha. "The sound of the horses crunching hay, the smell of pine trees - it's unmatched."
