Steamboat Springs is considered the cowboy's ski resort, but even there the cowboy is being pushed out

Nathan Rodriguez, nrodriguez@vailtrail.com
July 23, 2008

Colorado’s history can be told in the history of its land. Land that has been taken, land that has been transferred, land that has been handed down within families, and land that has been lost.

The Ute Indian tribe were the first known inhabitants of the central Rockies, and traversed vast regions on horseback, surviving mostly as hunter-gatherers. Eventually, European-American settlers enter the equation. At first, the relationship between the two groups was “fairly amicable,” said Bill Convery, state historian at the Colorado historical society. “The Utes controlled the central Rockies, and the European-Americans came in more or less with the permission of the Utes.”

After some time, the allure of potential fortunes in mining and ranching took hold, and — after a few conflicts and some (quickly broken) treaties — the Utes were relegated to reservations to make way for the new economy.

When interest in mining waned, Eagle County shifted to agriculture and ranching, generally favoring lettuce and potatoes. Surrounding areas like Steamboat Springs relied more heavily on cattle ranching, and had enough open space to allow the practice to flourish.

Finally, skiing struck a chord with the public, and the industry took hold in the region. The town of Vail was jumpstarted, and quickly organized itself around the new industry. The rest is history. Development and rising real estate prices has pushed Eagle County’s ranching heritage to the western part of the county. Even there, development is squeezing ranchers out.

In the meantime, our ski resort neighbor to the north, Steamboat Springs, seems to be holding on to its roots in ranching despite its allure to developers and second-home owners. The resort even markets itself as a rugged, out-of-the-way alternative to the I-70 slopes.

But even in Steamboat, the western way of life is evolving.

Where's the beef?
To sample a little flavor of the West, we headed to the Steamboat Sheraton hotel to check out one of the largest livestock auctions in the nation with 330,000 head of cattle from 27 states.

While we didn’t expect to have to sidestep spittoons and tiptoe around cow pies, we also didn’t expect herds of cattle roaming across video monitors.

A couple dozen purchasing agents, dressed mostly in plaid, tucked-in shirts and white cowboy hats, sat elbow-to-elbow in the first few rows, many with a phone cradled against their shoulder. They remained on the line throughout most of the price wars, flicking a finger on occasion to signify their bid. Meanwhile, the party on the other end of the phone (with the bankroll) was likely watching the same video feed on a nationwide satellite broadcast on Dish Network and DirecTV.

Starbucks set up a couple canisters of complimentary coffee for the auction, and on the far wall was a Pfizer banner. Plush carpeting inside the conference room was met by tasteful area rugs in the halls, both of which muffled the scuttle of boot heels. In the lobby, attendees of the auction milled about, socializing and dispatching text messages on PDAs.

Surrounding the Sheraton is the future: cranes creeping into the skyline, coupled with the sounds of heavy machines in reverse and the pummeling of asphalt as construction crews excavate another area for development.

Cattle ranching, once the hub of the local economy and kindling for the legend of Steamboat, appears to be riding off into the sunset.

“It’s not one thing that’s changing in Steamboat, it’s everything,” said Andy Wirth, chief marketing officer and executive vice president of sales and marketing for Intrawest. “The scope and scale of improvements coming to Steamboat are without compare in the ski area’s history.”

The city has dubbed the project “Steamboat Unbridled,” a four-pronged approach to development. In addition to renovating some of the ski areas, the city is enhancing the airport, expanding roads, and investing in real estate, which developers claim “will allow us to say the entire Steamboat experience is vastly improved” in a few years, said Wirth.

“There’s always a significant, healthy discussion when it comes to downtown and the (ski) base area,” said John Eastman, planning services manager for Steamboat Springs. “Is it appropriate? Is it too much? Are we losing the character of Steamboat?”

A resident of Steamboat for the past 23 years, Wirth knows there may be some hesitation to expansion and development. “When you start moving dirt, building facilities, tearing out roads, and putting in new signage, there’s no question that sentiment can exist,” Wirth said. “But with a quick reminder, most people realize that we’ve been looking forward to this for a number of years.”

Fill in the blank
Cattle ranching requires open space. The outskirts of Steamboat allow the freedom to graze, and the city itself hasn’t been in much of a rush to fill development gaps.

This, too, is about to change.

Areas of the town that have remained undeveloped are being filled in, as construction crews give the town a makeover. “There is significant in-fill redevelopment in Old Town Steamboat, with a lot of the one-story buildings along the main street being redeveloped as three- or four-story structures,” said Eastman. “There are also a large number of residential units moving downtown to take advantage of the diverse shopping and dining experiences.”

In addition to the in-fill redevelopments downtown, the town is “partly through a 700- acre annexation proposal” aimed at building affordable housing for the workforce. Eastman said the town’s first significant annexation in more than 20 years “has the potential to almost double the full-time, year-round population of Steamboat.”

For Wirth, it was more a question of “when” and not “if” these developments would happen. “These improvements address the downside of not having a master plan for the town to develop,” he said. “It will be much easier to get around by car, shuttle or other commercial services, and so it’ll be easier for people to enjoy the entire Steamboat experience.”

Cost of development
Steamboat Unbridled may make life easier for tourists and skiers, but in some ways it marks the end of an era for local ranchers, who will have to make adjustments to stay in business.

Ranchers near Steamboat will soon face problems long faced by ranchers on the outskirts of Eagle County: a clash of lifestyles.

“Cattle ranching is dying,” said Loyd Gerard, a third-generation rancher who lives south of Gypsum. “Everything is going to big business, and farming isn’t getting any easier. They come in, tear up all the ground, and 80 percent of it goes under asphalt.”

While he was once able to have his cattle graze in open spaces, Gerard now finds himself farming between two housing subdivisions. He used to move cattle whenever necessary, and would encounter maybe six vehicles a day. Now, he says about 10 or 15 cars pass through his property each hour.

“It’s the little things that get you. It’s not being able to move cattle on Saturday anymore” due to traffic, he said. “Now if you move them, people are honking because you’re moving too slow.”

Historian Bill Convery agrees that close-knit communities that were once critical to cattle ranching have dissolved. “The aura and appearance of ranching is there, but the community bonds have really dissolved,” he said. “Ranching was always a cooperative activity where the community would come together for round-ups and branding. Now it’s an ‘invite-only’ affair.”

Aside from traffic flow and housing developments moving in, Gerard feels an economic squeeze as well. “It’s just so damn difficult because the valley is so expensive to live in,” said Gerard, adding those high costs mean he has to pay workers $20 an hour, while trying to compete with farmers in Nebraska and Kansas who pay workers half as much. “The thing with agriculture is that there’s not that much money in it,” he said.

To remain afloat financially, Gerard has had to change the way he does business, which has meant checking in with a guard station so he can monitor his herd’s water, as well as buying livestock off the Internet. “Everybody has had to adjust. Farming isn’t the ‘good old boy’ system it used to be, where you take over for your dad,” he said. “Just as with any other business, you have to change, or you’ll go extinct.”

Going once, going twice ... sold
Back at the livestock auction, attendance is about the same as in past years, but increased costs of freight and feed have taken their toll. “We’ve been seeing people modify their purchase prices,” said Jim Kelley, business manager for Superior Productions. He said the average price paid for cattle per CWT (100 pounds) was $124 two years ago, about $121 last year, and closer to $119 at this year’s auction.

Rising gas costs mean it costs more to ship livestock, and the price of corn has doubled in the past year, increasing the cost of feeding calves. “Location matters more than it used to,” said Kelley, adding most people only bid on cattle from their region due to freight costs.

If ranchers had known their expenses would increase this much, many might have chosen a different strategy, said William Hahn, an agricultural economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Today’s calf supply is based largely on what people thought was a good idea three or four years ago. If they knew these corn prices were coming, (due to demand for ethanol) they would have probably decided to have fewer calves,” he said. Hahn said increased expenses will “eventually lead to higher retail prices ... as producers cut back on the number of cattle.”

It seems that cattle ranching is entering a bit of a lull, while Steamboat Unbridled is ascending.

And if — as Hahn says — the livestock industry takes a few years to make adjustments, it may be that the cattle market stabilizes only after many of the new attractions are up and running in Steamboat.

Vestiges of western culture will likely linger in Steamboat, but the authentic, open spaces are vanishing. Sure, the idea of the west lives in the Tread of Pioneers history museum. Heck, even the Wendy’s in town has a log cabin appeal. Steamboat still hosts rodeos, but is equally famous for the annual Hot Air Balloon Rodeo. After some time, it may be that the west exists as a metaphor instead of a physical location: to see it as more may require an Unbridled imagination.

Finding the future in the past
The history of land transfers in Colorado has meant that land’s use changes, usually determined by “whoever has the economic and political clout,” said Convery.

He said rising real estate values are eliminating the economic incentive for ranching, and most ranching has “become a fantasy activity where the rich play ‘cowboy’ and the real ranchers move out to Wyoming or Nebraska to do ranching. It becomes an image, a lifestyle appendage.”

Candice Lombardo, executive director of the Tread of Pioneers museum in Steamboat, agrees that “true” local ranchers are few in number. “After all the hype about big cattle fortunes, many ranchers have found it difficult to survive, so they host tourists to make extra money,” she said.

Lombardo said the rising value of real estate — which should be bolstered by Steamboat Unbridled — has forced most small ranchers to sell their land to support their families. “Many of those that are still in it have a commitment to those that came before them, and so they stay in it for the love of the land, the love of that lifestyle, or preserving what previous generations had,” she said.

But aside from a few ranchers who have held on to their land, the industry is in decline. “Ranching time is done now, especially around the resort areas,” said Convery. “All we’re doing now is saving the image and relegating the reality behind it.” He added that selling the idea of being a cowboy goes back to dime novels, and even though the industry has “had its share of ups and downs,” the plans to develop Steamboat “might be the ultimate bust.” He paused, adding, “But they were saying that in 1887, too, and people made adjustments.”

On the other side of the same coin, developers are thrilled by the prospect of having more visitors enjoy Steamboat’s “champagne powder.”

“We realized we have a number of high-end properties in Steamboat, but not nearly enough to compete with the Vails and Beaver Creeks of the world,” said Wirth. “But now the competitive landscape is changing with the advent of higher-end properties, and some of the ski-in, ski-out developments coming to Steamboat.”

The town that was once content being a little different than the rest, and a little tougher to reach is now drifting toward the development models that worked for the Vail Valley.

Looking ahead, the challenge is to try and retain the personality of Steamboat during development, said Wirth.

“There’s no question in my mind that Steamboat has firm footing as one of the premier destinations in the entire world,” he said. “But we must hold on to what makes us unique. It needs to remain a real community, a viable year-round place for families to call home and raise their kids, while remaining rooted in the West.”


Nathan Rodriguez can be reached for comment at nrodriguez@vailtrail.com.