Conservation
Case Study: Lonetree Ranch
By guest contributor Kevin Alexander Watt, TomKat Ranch. Over the summer I had the chance to visit Lonetree Ranch in Wyoming and talk with Marissa Taylor about her family’s ranching operation. Marissa’s name had come up repeatedly while planning this series on regenerative ranches, especially from participants of the Western Landowners Alliance’s Women in Ranching…
Read MoreFor western landowners, conservation & economics go hand-in-hand
The American West is unique in the amount and continuity of land and habitat it provides. Spanning across private and public boundaries, western working lands feed, water and fuel the nation while sustaining up to 80 percent of the region’s wildlife species. The next era of conservation must shape economic conditions and policies that actively…
Read MoreCase Study: Elk Glade Ranch
By guest contributor Kevin Alexander Watt, TomKat Ranch. In June, I visited Elk Glade Ranch near Colorado Springs, Colorado during a stewardship tour hosted by the Western Landowners Alliance. Elk Glade Ranch is owned and operated by the Johnson and Hammond families and is a remarkably diverse landscape and operation. The ranch is a beautiful,…
Read More2014 Farm Bill Expires: what does it mean and what’s next?
After more than a year of work by those most interested in passing an on-time Farm Bill – farmers, ranchers and advocacy groups interested in sustainable agriculture, conservation and forestry – the 2014 Farm Bill expired at midnight on September 30, 2018. The expiration marks the second time in a row that the Farm Bill…
Read MoreWater Rights for Restoration
Conservation Finance Series—Part Seven of Eight By Jane Rice and Ben Guillon, WRA, Inc., with guest contributor Bill Wombacher of Ryley Carlock & Applewhite. If you own water rights and are interested in selling or leasing them to restore stream flows and habitat, this article will help you navigate potential opportunities. The article includes an…
Read MoreCase Study: Flying Diamond Ranch
By guest contributor Kevin Alexander Watt, TomKat Ranch. This year, TomKat Ranch began a project to gather and share the stories of ranchers around the country seeing economic benefits from regenerative practices. As part of this work, I visited Flying Diamond Ranch in Kit Carson, Colorado for a stewardship tour hosted by the Western Landowners…
Read MorePayments for Watershed Services
Conservation Finance Series—Part Six of Nine By Jane Rice and Ben Guillon, WRA, Inc., with guest contributor Jeff Corbin of Restoration Systems, LLC. Payments for watershed services totaled $24.7 billion globally in 2015, according to a recent report, The Global Status and Trends of Payments for Ecosystem Services. Payments for watershed services dominate global environmental…
Read MoreCarbon Crediting
Conservation Finance Series—Part Five of Eight By Jane Rice and Ben Guillon, WRA, Inc., in collaboration with Josh Strauss and Ben Parkhurst, Bluesource LLC. This blog post is focused on land-based carbon crediting opportunities for forests and grasslands based on the relative maturity of the markets and our assumptions regarding WLA members’ interests. What is…
Read MoreConservation Easements
Conservation Finance Series—Part Four of Eight By Jane Rice and Ben Guillon, WRA, Inc., in collaboration with Erik Glenn, Executive Director of Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust. How do conservation easements work? A conservation easement is a voluntary commitment by a landowner to limit development on his/her property and protect resources like wildlife habitat, open…
Read MoreSpecies Conservation Banking and Habitat Exchanges
Conservation Finance Series—Part Three of Eight How does species conservation banking work? The Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), as well as some other federal and state regulations, prevents the destruction and harassment of protected species. This protection extends also to the habitat these species use throughout their life, such as habitat for nesting, rearing young,…
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