Each quarter, the Conservancy hosts a virtual discussion about what's happening at the organization. This quarter, we discussed one of our newest programs, the Community Conservation Connection. Read on and watch the Coffee with the Conservancy video below to learn more about this program.
What's the Community Conservation Connection?
This innovative program offers 5-year agreements between agricultural landowners and the Conservancy.
The voluntary program has two types of agreements, both of which provide annual, acreage-based payments to landowners for conserving their working agricultural lands:
The first agreement is for those not yet taking part in a traditional conservation easement. These agreements were developed in response to local landowners who wanted to protect their land and continue agriculture, but who weren't ready to commit to the "forever" of a traditional conservation easement. It's a way for agricultural landowners to explore one of the many conservation programs available to them.
The second agreement is for land that is already protected by traditional conservation easements. In this case, the payments are tied to conservation management practices and continued agricultural production.
This groundbreaking new program is funded by Chaffee Common Ground, and it's already showing signs of great success with 9 agreements and over 3,300 protected acres.
It's our hope that the Community Conservation Connection deepens community relationships and increases landowner understanding of the many conservation strategies and options available to them.
Watch our March 2021 webinar about the Community Conservation Connection program to learn more.
Questions about this program? We'd love to hear from you. Please contact us: info@CentralColoradoConservancy.org.