Colorado was traversed by a long-necked dinosaur 150 million years ago. The monster made a sweeping, 270-degree turn while walking.
The sauropod's 134 Late Jurassic footprints form the world's longest dinosaur trackway. This government protection allows researchers and the public to access them.
The West Gold Hill Dinosaur Track site, 106 yards of sauropod tracks, is on two 27-acre lots.
The footprints are west of Ouray, a 1,000-person San Juan Mountain village in southwest Colorado.
The Charles family bought the land in 1945 to find gold. Having camped on the site in the summer, they knew about potholes.
The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests bought the site from Charles Real Estate Trust for $135,000 two years later, claims Tiney Ricciardi of the Denver Post.
Congress established the Land and Water Conservation Fund in 1964 with oil and gas royalties to fund the agency.
The footprints will be visible to hikers and horseback riders on the steep, two-mile Silvershield Trail, which reaches 1,600 feet in elevation.