REDFIELD, Iowa (DTN) -- Urban sprawl is a concern for farmers and ranchers across the Western states. For the Silver Spur Ranch Kiowa Creek Division, there are nearly 8,000 neighbors adjacent to the ranch, with only a handful being actual farmers or ranchers.

Decky Spiller, manager of the ranch, said when owner John Malone purchased the ground in the early 1990s, he wanted to be able to preserve the open spaces for raising cattle and purchased ground along the Interstate 25 corridor between Denver and Colorado Springs. This was also to preserve watersheds and the ranchland for future generations to experience. The spread is in Douglas, El Paso and Elbert counties in Colorado to the south and southeast of Denver.

Silver Spur Ranch Kiowa Creek Division has been participating in DTN's View From the Range series, where DTN followed a year at the ranch to give readers an inside look at how the ranch operates and cares for its animals.

This eighth and final segment in the series looks at how urban sprawl is affecting the management of this Western cattle ranch.

URBAN INTERFACE MOVES OUTWARD

"Development has come in waves toward us. It started in 2007 to 2010 and then slowed down until after COVID when people wanted to move to the country," Spiller said. He estimated that the commuter traffic in the Kiowa area has increased by 20 times during the past five years.

"Of the thousands of neighbors we have, only three that I can think of get all their income from agriculture," he added.

Spiller said they have had to learn how to ranch in the urban interface where the majority of their neighbors don't understand how cattle are raised. He appreciates the 98% of those who live nearby who keep an eye out for anything that might be out of the ordinary. He estimated 65% of the Kiowa Creek Division pastures have fence line next to roads, including gravel roads, county roads or interstate highways. This large number of adjacent fields means the public sees the cattle along these roads for most of the year.

KNOW HOW TO COMMUNICATE

Calls come to the ranch with concerns about cattle that have found a way out of the fences, are injured or alone. Most of the time it's not a crisis, but Spiller stresses to the cowboys working at the ranch to be thoughtful when they communicate with these people.

"Those of us who have been around cattle and livestock most of our lives know there will be those who become crippled, and we will lose an animal from time to time," Spiller explained. "But we must know how to communicate what is going on at our ranch with those who aren't familiar with our way of life, so they aren't as concerned. We need to be good neighbors with our neighbors because they are here to stay."

He admitted the type of communication with the neighbors who are inexperienced in the ranching livelihood can be difficult for some. "Being this close to the city, and the people who come with this urban sprawl, isn't for all of my cowboys," he said. "Some are better at the ranches elsewhere, and that's OK. They are often very successful there."

The Silver Spur Divisions in other areas of Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Nebraska aren't dealing with the urban sprawl to the extent the Kiowa Creek Division is, but communication is an important part of the job if it's among each other or with the public.

Spiller does have concern for those who buy bigger parcels of ground to raise their own food, but they don't have the expertise to do so. He said he appreciates they are willing to try, but he also wants them to understand the amount of hard work that goes into raising animals for food.

"Those of us in the production agriculture livelihood understand that it takes these acres to raise cattle," Spiller added. "Ruminant livestock can make use of the land that is not otherwise useable and convert grass into affordable protein. It takes an amount of expertise to be a part of this."

Learning to deal with people moving from the city areas to the country is not ending. Spiller said the urban interface is becoming more and more apparent in the West, and ranchers will continue to deal with this reality even more in the days to come.

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Editor's Note: To see the first seven stories in this series, go to:

-- "Follow Colorado Cattle Ranch Through the Year," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- "Colorado's Silver Spur Ranch Shares Calving and Tagging System Tips," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- "Silver Spur Ranch Success Comes From Ensuring Good Health for Cattle and Cowboys," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- "Silver Spur Ranch Spring Branding Protects Cattle, Owners," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- "Data Collected on Ranch's Cattle to Help Make Improvements to Herd," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- "Pasture, Hay Closely Managed at Silver Spur," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- "Wildlife, Including Wolf, Causes Challenges for Colorado Ranchers," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Jennifer Carrico can be reached at jennifer.carrico@dtn.com

Follow her on social platform X @JennCattleGal

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