It's not just the recent snowfall that has Ophir residents smiling. For more than a decade, the protection of Waterfall Canyon's Game Bird claims has been at the top of the community's Open Space wish list. That list just got shorter.

On Monday, Dec. 5, the San Miguel Conservation Foundation finalized the purchase of the Game Bird Lode and Game Bird Millsite from Dean and Wendy Moffatt of Glenwood Springs. Located less than one mile up the Waterfall Canyon Road, and suitable for potential development as a residential homesite, the 26-acre parcel has long been a focus of protection efforts.

Gary Hickcox, Executive Director of the San Miguel Conservation Foundation, acknowledged the generous efforts of the Moffatt family in the recent negotiation of the sale. "Our conversations have spanned several years," explained Hickcox, "and while Dean and Wendy had long dreamed of building a cabin on the backcountry parcel, they are to be praised for their ultimate agreement to transfer the property to us for preservation as open space."

The property had been in Wendy Moffatt's family for over 70 years. In the 1930s, family members joined several friends in staking a claim on the Game Bird Mine and Millsite and mined the property under the name of the Delta Mining Company. The claims were successfully patented in 1959. However, unlike the old-timers who Wendy describes as having been "in love with the idea of striking it rich from the ore inside the mountain," the Moffatts realize that the property has a much greater value on the surface. "We love the land," they said, "but we're sympathetic to the desires of the people who live in Ophir."

Upon hearing of the acquisition, Nancy Craft, Ophir's Open Space Coordinator, commented, "With the purchase of the Moffatt parcel by SMCF, the most significant remaining developable parcel in Waterfall Canyon will be protected.

"The canyon is especially significant to Ophir residents as the 'Bear Creek' of Ophir," she continued, "much loved for its wilderness quality and immediately available opportunities for solitude and backcountry recreation. However, more importantly, Waterfall Canyon was, from the outset, ranked the number one priority for preservation by Ophir residents because it contains the historic location of the Town's water intake, and so preserving its pristine water quality for the community's drinking water through preventing residential development became the primary objective of the Town's open space preservation project."

Ophir's Mayor, Monica Carey, echoed similar enthusiasm. "We sincerely appreciate what SMCF has accomplished on our behalf," Carey said. "Once again, the region has benefited from the leadership and partnership of the San Miguel Conservation Foundation. With this acquisition, a key section of our watershed will be preserved and a corridor within the wildlife connector for the Lizard Head Wilderness is harbored."

Since 1997, SMCF and the Town of Ophir have worked in partnership to acquire and protect 24 privately owned in-holdings, totaling more than 185 acres within Waterfall Canyon. SMCF's plan is to ultimately transfer ownership of the Game Bird claims to the Town of Ophir, to be held in perpetuity as protected open space.

"This it the type of transaction that is most gratifying to me personally," said Hickcox. "Like previous purchases in Waterfall and Bear Creek, we have been able to ensure that development does not occur in these two canyons that so many of us consider to be so critical to the quality of life we enjoy living in the Telluride region."

Hickcox acknowledged the generosity of Erik Fallenius and Nevasca Realty, who, as in previous conservation deals in Ophir and Bear Creek, has been willing to waive the commission on the buying side thereby significantly lowering the price for not only the foundation, but also for the community as a whole.

The San Miguel Conservation Foundation is a non-profit, public purpose land conservation organization founded in 1993 and based in Telluride. Through a variety of conservation techniques, SMCF works with confidentiality and in cooperation with private landowners to protect natural and open resources throughout the region. More than 6,000 acres in San Miguel County are currently under the stewardship of SMCF.