The Windstar Foundation was an environmental education and

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...

organization founded by

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...

and Thomas Crum in 1976 to conserve of land in Snowmass, Colorado, where it had its headquarters. Windstar educated all age groups about the environment on a world-wide level. The Foundation closed its doors in October 2012, voted to dissolve, and sold its property for $8.5 million in early 2013. All but 30 acres of the land is subject to a

conservation easement In the United States, a conservation easement (also called conservation covenant, conservation restriction or conservation servitude) is a power invested in a qualified land conservation organization called a "land trust", or a governmental (muni ...

which prohibits development.

Rocky Mountain Institute RMI, or Rocky Mountain Institute, is a global, independent, non-partisan non-profit organization co-founded in the United States by Amory Lovins. As of 2025, RMI's stated mission is to transform "global energy systems through market-driven solut ...

, which had its headquarters on the unprotected 30 acres and owned a 50% interest in the property, plans to move to

Basalt, Colorado Basalt is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule town located in Eagle County, Colorado, Eagle and Pitkin County, Colorado, Pitkin List of counties in Colorado, counties, Colorado, United States. The town populat ...

. Windstar's $4-million portion of the proceeds was donated to an Aspen charity.

References

External links

Environmental organizations based in Colorado Conservation and environmental foundations based in the United States Educational organizations established in 1976 {{environmental-org-stub