Eastern Plains

Baca County

12 Porch Notes tied to Baca County — the local details that change from one part of Colorado to the next.

Money and taxes (1)

Money and taxes

In Baca County, the assessor and the treasurer do two different jobs

Your Baca County property tax bill runs through two offices: the assessor sets the value, and the treasurer collects and distributes the tax.

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Home and property (1)

Home and property

Radon is a normal home test to run in Baca County

Radon is a common indoor-air concern in Colorado homes, and a simple test tells you where a Baca County house stands before you move in.

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Water and land (1)

Water and land

In Baca County, well water mostly comes from the ground, not a river

Much of Baca County depends on groundwater rather than surface streams, so a well permit and the aquifer beneath a property are worth understanding before you buy.

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Outdoors and wildfire (4)

Outdoors and wildfire

Carrizo Canyon is a creek-fed canyon with old rock carvings

Carrizo Canyon in the Comanche National Grassland follows a fork of Carrizo Creek through juniper and cottonwood, and its walls hold American Indian petroglyphs.

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Outdoors and wildfire

Hunting the Comanche Grassland means knowing two sets of rules

Hunting on the Comanche National Grassland in Baca County follows Colorado Parks and Wildlife license rules plus Forest Service land rules, and nearby private land needs permission.

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Outdoors and wildfire

The Comanche National Grassland is public land you can walk in Baca County

A large share of Baca County's open country is federal grassland managed by the Forest Service, with its own access rules and a ranger office in Springfield.

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Outdoors and wildfire

Two Buttes is a State Wildlife Area, not a state park

Two Buttes Reservoir near Baca County is a Colorado State Wildlife Area, which means access depends on a license or pass and conditions can change with the water.

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Cars and driving (1)

Cars and driving

Driving Baca County means gravel roads and plains weather

Much of getting around Baca County is on county gravel roads, where mud, wind, and sudden storms call for a little extra planning.

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Local rules (1)

Local rules

Who makes the local rules in Baca County

Most of Baca County is unincorporated, so for land outside town limits the county commissioners and county offices in Springfield are the local authority.

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History and culture (3)

History and culture

Picture Canyon holds rock art worth treating with care

Picture Canyon in Baca County's Comanche National Grassland holds ancient rock art on its walls, and visiting it respectfully helps protect it.

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History and culture

The Dust Bowl shaped Baca County's land and its people

Baca County was at the heart of the 1930s Dust Bowl, and that history still explains its grasslands, its small towns, and how the land is used today.

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History and culture

You can still find Santa Fe Trail wagon ruts in southern Baca County

The Cimarron Route of the Santa Fe Trail crossed about 14 miles of southern Baca County, and on the Carrizo Unit grassland you can still walk out to faint wagon ruts and old markers.

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