Who Was Sally Bowman?

April 18, 2018 — She must have made quite an impression in 1899, when Jerome Morse filed a patent on a 10-acre mining claim in the middle of what is now the Weminuche Wilderness in southern Colorado. Just after filing to create the Morse Lode, he filed to create the Sally Bowman Mine right next door. Intriguing!

That history is lost to us, but the property was not. The family passed it down from generation to generation, and in 2017 the heirs donated it to the La Plata Open Space Conservancy (LPOSC). The Conservancy has successfully protected private lands around Durango, Colorado and northern New Mexico for 25 years.

We then partnered with LPOSC to acquire the Sally Bowman Mine, and we are now in the process of transferring it over to public ownership. A successful transfer of this property will be the sixth project completed in Colorado’s largest designated Wilderness and further ensures protection of the La Plata River, which runs through the property.

THANK YOU for your generous support of our mission to Keep the Promise of Wilderness for future generations!