"The Valley Floor is our entrance; it sets the tone. At this point it is what keeps us from being like those other ski towns: 'A mall with a mountain,'" writes Daryl Hannah on the Valley Floor Preservation Partners Web site. (Whit Richardson)

The sign on the courthouse in Telluride, Colo., says it all: "We did it! Thank you, heroes."

Facing a deadline of May 11, the town managed to raise $50 million to protect 250 acres of land from development. With a $2 million donation from Hollywood producer Tom Shadyac, the town met its court-imposed deadline at the last minute, the nonprofit Valley Floor Preservation Partners announced yesterday.

"The town is elated," says Mayor John Pryor. "It's jubilant; it's joyous. Everyone is smiling."

But the San Diego-based landowner, Neal Blue, who paid $7 million for the parcel in the early 1980s, intends to appeal the town's seizure of his land through eminent domain proceedings. In June 2002, Telluride voters approved a plan allowing the town to acquire Blue's land and preserve it as open space. A Delta County court set the price tag of $50 million to reimburse Blue, whose company, San Miguel Valley Corp., had planned to develop the land for commercial use.

With support from celebrities like Daryl Hannah and Tom Cruise, who own property in Telluride, perhaps it was inevitable that Valley Floor Partners for Preservation raised the necessary cash. But the group was $2.5 million short last week.

"Never have I seen a community rally more effectively for the preservation of one of its most important assets," says Richard Moe, president of the National Trust, which donated $10,000 to the cause and named Telluride Valley to its list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 2001.

Besides deep pockets, what was Telluride's secret to raising millions? "Tap into the passion of the people in your community. When you tap into passion, anything can happen," Pryor says. "Everyone wants to keep Telluride authentic and as a place that just stands out from the homogeneous experience in other areas."

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