Valley View becomes Orient Land Trust for preservation

Article by Marcia Darnell

Land Use - February 2005 - Colorado Central Magazine - No. 132 - Page 14
Copyright © 2005 by Marcia Darnell and Central Colorado Publishing Co. All rights reserved.
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VALLEY VIEW HOT SPRINGS has been a local landmark for over 30 years. The clothing-optional, natural pools resort has drawn people from around the region and around the country for fun and relaxation.

Now it is more.

Owners Neil and Terry Seitz have enlarged the resort -- and their vision -- to create the Orient Land Trust to preserve what they have built, and to educate others about its history and uses.

"Terry and I were thinking of our estate," Neil Seitz says, "and the more we thought about it, we thought, 'How do you allow for transfer and how do you deal with the property, to make sure it isn't divided up or sold off?' So we came up with an idea to create an organization to donate to now to have it permanently preserved, to keep it rustic and keep it natural, at the same time trying to preserve the property around us. A lot of these old ranches are being subdivided, cut up, and sold."

The trust was created as a non-profit corporation in March 2001. The couple spent 2002 and 2003 "getting organized, getting ready to take over the management of the land, applying for 501(c)3 status," according to Seitz. In January 2004 OLT took over managing all of the Seitzes' property, "which we will donate to OLT a parcel at a time," Seitz says. At that point, the Seitzes became employees, rather than owners.

"We're doing better than we ever expected," Seitz says. "We have over 1600 supporters from 46 states."

Neil Seitz first came to Valley View in 1974, and began working there a year later; he bought the place in 1979. The resort has always had repeat visitors, and after three decades, the staff is seeing second- and third-generation guests.Valley View limits its memberships, to protect the land, but non-members are permitted to visit at certain times.

Before starting down the OLT road, the couple surveyed Valley View's members, asking if they thought it was a good idea, and if they'd pledge financial support for 10 years.

"We surveyed over 1,100 people, and 88 percent said, 'Go for it,'" says Seitz.

In an all-or-nothing move, the Seitzes have even given their house to the trust. They've always been conservation-minded; the resort has its own hydroelectric plant.

"I was here two years into college as an engineer and didn't go back," Seitz says. "There's just something about this place.

"I was looking for a big, blank chalkboard, and this was perfect."

The trust acquired its first easement last October, taking over the Everson Ranch. The ranch, named for the family who owned it before, had been subdivided into house lots. The ranch lies along the road leading to Valley View. "So we now have the open space," says Seitz.

OLT BOUGHT THE WATER RIGHTS to the land, too, and continues to graze 80 cows and calves on it.

"We own and manage the land, not just have an easement," Seitz says. "We can improve it, graze it, and we want to keep it in ag.

"We want to be a resource for conservation tools for landowners," he adds.

[Orient Trust land from above]

OLT will expand the educational programs that the Seitzes have always done. A geological fault runs through the resort, and geology students dug a cross section of the fault line for research. Students study the section, and many have written theses on it.

The old Orient Mine, for which the trust is named, is also a research site for geologists, metallurgists, historians, and others. Astronomy is popular, too. There's no light pollution at Valley View, and donors gave three large telescopes to the trust.

Then there are the bats. The Bat Conservation Society has observed and studied the furry flying animals at the resort. The Audubon Society and other groups have studied the wildlife at Valley View many times.

"The Division of Wildlife has been very active here," says Seitz.

STUDENTS DON'T HAVE TO BE affiliated with an organization to learn, or to teach. Volunteers take interested people around the resort, for programs on history and facts.

"That just made it more popular, and people really appreciated it," Seitz says.

OLT plans to continue the resort's outreach to public schools, and to develop educational programs.

"We're always available to school groups, to provide field trips," says Seitz. There's no charge for day-trippers who come to learn.

Laura O'Leary started at OLT as program and fundraising director a little over a year ago. She wants to focus on getting residents from this region involved in the area.

"We'd like local people to come up and walk up to the mine or tour the hydroelectric plant," she says, "whether they haven't been here in 20 years, or if they've never been here.

"We're more than just a bunch of naked people. There's a lot going on here, a lot that people could become involved with," she adds.

Volunteers are needed for more historical research on the mine itself. For one thing, it's unclear where the name came from.

"It was named in the 1800s," says Seitz. "It's either because 'orient' is Spanish for 'east' and it's on the east side of the ranch, or there's a theory it was named for the Oriental people who worked on the railroad there."

They've tried to research that, but haven't found an answer yet. The corporate descendants of mining giant Colorado Fuel & Iron Corporation have opened records, but the three buildings full of paper are a lot to sort through.

"We will try to document more," Seitz says. They've applied for a history grant for more research and more programs on site. They also need more volunteers.

And fundraising will be constant.

"We sent a letter to 5,700 households in the fall," Seitz says. "In the spring we do a newsletter that devotes more space to the history and articles about what we're doing."

The Seitzes plan to stay, and stay involved, for as long as possible.

"It's about balance," Seitz says. "It's not going to become a real active program, but there will always be preservation of the property and at the same time we're encouraging people to look around and realize where they are.

With Valley View seeing over 20,000 visitor-days a year, maintaining a balance between managing visitors and managing the land will be critical.

But the Seitzes and O'Leary say that with the continued support of their members, the land and the trust will be healthy for a long, long time.

"People have been overwhelmingly supportive," O'Leary says.

For more information on Valley View Hot Springs or the Orient Land Trust, call 719/256-4315 or check out www.olt.org.

Marcia Darnell lives, writes, and occasionally soaks in the San Luis Valley.

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