Cheatgrass outcompeting native vegetation.

On a high meadow at Red Wind Point Open Space, something remarkable is happening.

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Towering lodgepole pines on Smuggler Mountain Open Space.

The views of Aspen from Smuggler Mountain Open Space are no doubt a highlight of the hike up Smuggler Mountain Road, but if you venture into the interior of the 232-acre open space, you’ll be treated to a different sort of spectacular sight. All you need to do is look up.

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Kate Lindvig, the “Cattle Queen of Snow Mass,” circa 1915. (Aspen Historical Society)

The recent acquisition of Snowmass Falls Ranch by Pitkin County Open Space and Trails is but the latest chapter in a story that began more than a century ago, when a Danish immigrant – a single woman, no less – established a ranch in the wilds of upper Snowmass Creek and became a local legend in the process.

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