Conservation
Birds Got no Beef with Burger
Opening the pickup door and stepping out onto native grass, the sun begins to rise amidst the sound of the dawn chorus. I listen to the melodic tinkling of a Baird’s sparrow (my favorite song, and also set as my morning phone alarm); the downward whirl of the Sprague’s pipit (my ring tone); the buzz of the Brewer’s sparrows, the joyful couplets of the McCown’s longspur. The chestnut-collared longspurs are chasing each other in play, or fight.
Read More...Hunters Helping with Wildlife Management on Private Lands
In its third year, the Master Hunter Program educates and certifies qualified hunters, and provides landowners with a pool of competent, ethical and responsible hunters to draw from when weighing options to manage wildlife populations on their land, and considering who to allow on their property to hunt.
Read More...5 Things We are Grateful for this Thanksgiving
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we’re taking a moment to express our gratitude to some of the things that make our lives as land stewards so rewarding. Landowners and managers have a lot to be thankful for in the West.
Read More...News from around Colorado – June 2019
News and opportunities for working lands in Colorado Highlights SNOTEL Current Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) % of Normal Our river basins are seeing record amounts of water in the snow pack. The SWE map is updated daily and provides a visual estimate of the amount of water left in the snowpack. The SWE percent of…
Read More...Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program
Video courtesy of Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program Are you familiar with the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program? It’s a great opportunity providing technical and financial support for private landowners interested in habitat restoration. Check it out! The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program is a voluntary habitat restoration program administered by the…
Read More...Conservation Finance Series – Final Thoughts
Conservation Finance Series—Part Eight of Eight By Jane Rice, WRA, Inc. and Ben Guillon, Conservation Investment Management This post concludes our conservation finance series, which has provided an overview of various ways landowners can get paid for implementing stewardship practices on their land. The series covered approaches ranging from conservation easements to carbon crediting and…
Read More...For 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 More...Case 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 More...2014 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 More...Water 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…
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