Rocky Mountain Land Library

Mission:

The Rocky Mountain Land Library’s mission is to help connect people to nature and the land.

The need for places of quiet thought, creative pursuits, and active community involvement will only grow as our population increases. The residential library we will establish will give everyone access not only to the books, but also to the surrounding lands — a learning landscape for generations to come.

Books:

Our 35,000+ book natural history collection has been gathered and curated by co-founders Jeff Lee and Ann Marie Martin throughout their careers at Denver’s iconic Tattered Cover Bookstore. The collection is global in scope and crosses all genres and subjects that explore the relationship between humans and nature.

Vision:

The Land Library’s ultimate vision is to open Buffalo Peaks Ranch as a year-round, residential retreat center and library, while hosting additional programs and outreach through our Metro Denver locations.

This rural to urban continuum will allow people of all backgrounds to gain a greater awareness of the land while connecting with one another. We describe this combination of locations as our Headwaters to Plains Network.

Values:

We are a nonpartisan, non-advocacy based organization dedicated to engaging diverse voices and perspectives, within our collection, programs, and organization.

Our diversity, equity, and inclusion committee develops outreach programs to engage our community and help overcome barriers to accessing our more distant resources and programs.

Buffalo Peaks Ranch:

Since 2013, the Land Library has invested over $100,000 in the initial stabilization and exterior restoration of the three residential structures at Buffalo Peak Ranch, our historic homestead and former sheep and cattle operation located at 9,200 ft just outside Fairplay, Colorado.

Each summer we have hosted a growing schedule of workshops and volunteer days at the ranch, reaching out to new partners and making new friends and connections as we work to bring our full vision to life.

At present, the ranch’s residential structures are in need of final interior restoration before library operations and lodging can begin.