A Colorado nonprofit has purchased about 480 acres of land on Mount Bross — a 14er that is part of the DeCaLiBron Loop — to secure public access along the popular trail that has faced closures from private landowners in the past.

The Conservation Fund announced on Tuesday that it had purchased the land in Park County from John Reiber. By the end of the year, the nonprofit says it plans to transfer the land to the U.S. Forest Service to be added to the Pike-San Isabel National Forest.

“It’s a major win for conservation, recreation, and local communities,” Conservation Fund Senior Field Representative Kelly Ingebritson said. “We were able to buy hundreds of acres of private land, including about a third of a mile of the Decalibron Loop, protecting access between Mount Lincoln and Mount Bross.”

The DeCaLiBron Loop is an about 8-mile trail in Park County that is named after the four 14,000-foot peaks that it traverses: Mount Democrat, Mount Cameron, Mount Lincoln, and Mount Bross.

The trail is among the most popular 14er routes in Colorado, since it is only about a two-hour drive from Denver and connects four of the state’s famous 14,000-foot peaks. Last year, the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative estimated that the Decalibron Loop saw between 15,000 and 20,000 hikers.

“It’s difficult, but an awesome, accessible 14er route,” Ingebritson said of the Decalibron.

The land acquisition does not include the summit of Mount Bross — which is on private land and remains off limits to the public — but it does include about one-third of a mile of the Decalibron that private landowners had previously closed, Ingebritson said. The acquisition expands on The Conservation Fund’s purchase two years ago of about 300 acres atop Mount Democrat, which secured public access to that summit.

The Pike-San Isabel National Forest is scattered with rectangles of private land that are a relic of the 1800s, when the federal government issued claims to miners. That includes private parcels along the Decalibron Loop that landowners in recent years have restricted public access to due to liability concerns.

Sections of the Decalibron Loop closed in 2021 and 2023 but have since reopened to hikers who sign a waiver promising they won’t sue the private landowner whose land they pass through.

“It’s like a puzzle,” Ingebritson said. “We’re putting back together the national forest, and we’re ready to work with landowners across Colorado.”

The lands acquired by The Conservation Fund include sections of the “viewshed” along the DeCaLiBron, important habitat for bighorn sheep, Canada lynx, elk and moose, and high Alpine ecosystems with rare plant species, she said. The land is also part of the headwaters of the South Platte River, so the acquisition will help protect a vital source of water for the local community, she said.

The Conservation Fund is not disclosing the terms of the sale to “respect the landowner’s privacy,” she said. The Park County government on Wednesday was not immediately able to provide public documents outlining the property transaction.

The Conservation Fund worked with partners including the Forest Service, the Park County government, the Colorado Fourteeners initiative, and the Mosquito Range Heritage Initiative to complete the project.

“Colorado’s 14ers drew 265,000 hikers last year, including almost 20,000 to the DeCaLiBron Loop, one of the most popular mountain hiking routes in the state,” Colorado Fourteeners Initiative Executive Director Lloyd Athearn said in a news release. “This acquisition preserves a key parcel along the loop trail, which will help with ongoing trail access and sustainability. The acquisition also protects other important lands on the flanks of Mount Bross that will preserve alpine tundra ecosystems.”