LeValley Ranch in Colorado: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
LeValley Ranch is a multi-generation beef cattle ranch in western Colorado's North Fork Valley, with private pastures in Delta and Montrose counties and leased BLM grazing. Thomas LeValley homesteaded the land in 1914, and Sand County Foundation named the family its 2023 Colorado Leopold Conservation Award recipient for rangeland management, water development and habitat work for the threatened Gunnison sage-grouse.
| Location | North Fork Valley, Delta and Montrose counties, Colorado |
|---|---|
| Founded | Homesteaded by Thomas LeValley in 1914 |
| Sectors | Beef cattle; game bird and big game hunting; shared meat processing |
| Scale | Private pastures plus leased BLM grazing; total acreage not published in the award announcement |
| Why it is elite | 2023 Colorado Leopold Conservation Award recipient; 100-plus years in one family |
| Ownership | LeValley family; Mark and Hank took over management in 1987, with a fifth generation, Ross, involved |
| Official website | Sand County Foundation Leopold Conservation Award announcement |
History of LeValley Ranch
Thomas LeValley homesteaded the ranch in 1914 in the North Fork Valley of western Colorado. The land then passed to his son Byron, and then to grandsons Mark, Hank and Steve. Mark and Hank took over management in 1987, and great-grandson Ross is part of the family operation today. Sand County Foundation noted that the ranch has always been managed with the long term in mind.
Recognition came in 2023, when the foundation announced LeValley Ranch as the Colorado Leopold Conservation Award recipient on April 20. The award honors voluntary conservation on private working lands and was presented in June 2023 at the Colorado Cattlemen's Association Annual Convention in Steamboat Springs. Chico Basin Ranch and Round River Resource Management were the other finalists that year.
What LeValley Ranch Grows and Raises
The ranch raises beef cattle on a mix of private pastures and leased Bureau of Land Management grazing allotments. Its private pastures are grazed rotationally and no more than two weeks a year, giving grass long recovery periods. Solar-powered pumps and 17 miles of pipeline carry water to livestock and wildlife, which spreads grazing pressure and keeps animals away from sensitive stream banks. The family also works on cooperative rangeland monitoring and irrigation improvements.
Wildlife is part of the business plan rather than an afterthought. Since 1995 the family has cooperated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the BLM and a local working group on habitat for the threatened Gunnison sage-grouse. The ranch also supports a game bird and big game hunting business, and it co-owns a USDA-inspected custom meat packing plant and retail store with five other ranches.
How LeValley Ranch Makes Money
Beef cattle
Beef cattle are the base enterprise, produced on private pasture and leased public land. The award announcement does not detail sale channels, so contact the ranch directly about cattle or beef.
Hunting
The ranch runs a game bird and big game hunting business. Healthy habitat feeds that enterprise directly: the same water, grass and cover work that helps cattle also helps wildlife.
Shared meat processing
With five other ranches, the family co-owns a USDA-inspected custom meat packing plant and retail store. A cooperative plant gives small and mid-size producers access to local processing capacity and a path to selling cuts rather than only live cattle.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from LeValley Ranch
Share the expensive infrastructure. Co-owning a USDA-inspected plant with five other ranches spreads the cost and risk of processing, a common bottleneck for Western beef producers who want to sell direct. Other regions have taken the same cooperative approach with plants, trucks and cold storage.
Let conservation earn twice. Water developed for cattle also serves wildlife, and sage-grouse habitat work has sat alongside a hunting enterprise for decades. Long-term partnerships with federal agencies and local working groups can stabilize grazing access on public land, which is essential for ranches that depend on leased allotments.
A ranch that has been managed with the long term in mind since 1914 has seen a few things, probably including a cow that insisted on drinking at the wrong end of 17 miles of pipeline. We tip our hat from farm.FM, where we write farm satire and farm humor with great affection for the North Fork Valley crowd. Consider this a modest helping of ranch humor, with farm jokes about sage-grouse that we hope the grouse will find fair.
Part newsroom, part radio dial, farm.FM bills itself as America's first satirical farm site and plays Tractor Tunes, its country music for farmers. Browse a farm.FM writer's back catalog to see the style.
How to Contact LeValley Ranch
No official ranch website appeared in my research, so this is the 2023 award announcement. Confirm any sales, hunting or visit details with the ranch directly. Information as of November 2026.
LeValley Ranch Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Sand County Foundation announcement - Official 2023 Colorado Leopold Conservation Award release
- High Plains Journal coverage - Independent news report on the award
- USDA NASS Census of Agriculture - Official data on Colorado farms, cattle and land
- Colorado Department of Agriculture - State agriculture department
- Colorado Cattlemen's Association - State cattle producer association behind the award presentation
LeValley Ranch FAQ
Where is LeValley Ranch?
It is in western Colorado's North Fork Valley, with private pastures in Delta and Montrose counties.
When was LeValley Ranch founded?
Thomas LeValley homesteaded the land in 1914.
What award did LeValley Ranch win?
It received the 2023 Colorado Leopold Conservation Award from Sand County Foundation.
What wildlife work does the ranch do?
It has worked with federal agencies and a local group since 1995 on habitat for the threatened Gunnison sage-grouse.
LeValley Ranch shows what a century of family stewardship can look like in western Colorado, from rotational grazing to shared meat processing and sage-grouse habitat. Read our Colorado farms guide for the wider picture of markets, water and programs that shape ranching in the state.