August 12, 2025 – The University of Colorado Boulder has received a momentous 476-acre land gift, the Spruce Gulch Wildlife and Research Reserve, along with endowment funds to support ecological and academic work at the site, valued at a combined total of $10.4 million, from alumna Linda Holubar Sanabria (A&S’67).
Faculty and students at the university’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) have conducted research at Spruce Gulch for almost 25 years, and the gifts will support current and future on-site studies.
Chancellor Justin Schwartz praised the gift’s impact.
“The Spruce Gulch property has had a real impact on CU Boulder research studies over the years, and it’s inspiring to consider the ways in which this will continue to grow,” said Schwartz. “Through her land and endowment gifts, Linda Holubar is fostering hands-on learning opportunities and strengthening the university as a leading research institution.”
The land, located in Boulder County, was previously owned by members of Holubar’s family for almost 100 years. After inheriting the land in 1994 and managing it as a natural reserve since 2001, Holubar and her spouse, Sergio Sanabria (A&S’66; Arch’70; MArtHist’75), concluded a conservation easement with the county prior to donating the site to CU Boulder.
“Our gift to the university was conditional on the easement and additional preservation terms,” said Holubar. “Having grown up on this land and having it be a part of my family for almost a century, I view it as my heart and soul and want nothing more than to protect it.”
The university’s symbiotic relationship with the land began in 2001, when Holubar contacted Tim Seastedt, an ecology and evolutionary biology professor emeritus at INSTAAR, for assistance with an invasive plant on the land. Their collaboration was successful and Holubar agreed to open up the land to CU Boulder researchers.
As of early 2025, the Spruce Gulch site has aided CU faculty and students in research for 29 scholarly publications, plus chapters in six doctoral dissertations, three master’s theses and four undergraduate honors theses.
“The history of CU’s environmental efforts includes some of the largest and most significant contributions to our understanding of high-elevation systems,” said Seastedt. “The acquisition of Spruce Gulch now allows us to pursue essential science relevant to the grasslands and foothills region, where most of us live. Therein lies the magnitude of this gift.”
The Spruce Gulch Wildlife and Research Reserve is not open to the public. Learn more about the reserve and inquire about research and conservation opportunities through the INSTAAR Spruce Gulch Reserve webpage.
