Latest news with #KeepItColorado
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Colorado conservation organizations award grants to land trusts and conservation nonprofits
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) — On Wednesday, two Colorado conservation organizations, Keep It Colorado and the Land Trust Alliance, partnered together to award $206,000 in grants to land trusts and conservation nonprofits. These grants aim to help reinforce and build programs to create a stronger conservation sector and advance land trust organizational excellence. The grants were funded by investments from Great Outdoors Colorado through Keep It Colorado's Emerging Conservation program. After a competitive application process, 15 land trusts and conservation organizations received awards to support 20 projects, including Colorado West Land Trust (CWLT). CWLT, located in Grand Junction, Colorado, was one of the 2025 Organizational Development Grantees. It protects and conserves agricultural land, rural heritage, wildlife habitats, recreational areas and scenic lands in over 144,000 acres in western Colorado. The awarded funds will be used to develop structure and strategy as they expand their organization. The other 2025 Organizational Development Grantees include: Aspen Valley Land Trust (Carbondale, Colo.): Financial Health Review and Improvement Central Colorado Conservancy (Salida, Colo.): Implementing the Capital Expansion and Sustainability Roadmap Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust (Denver, Colo.): CCALT Strategic Engagement Video Campaign for 30th Anniversary Year Crested Butte Land Trust (Crested Butte, Colo.): Contract a Development Consultant to Increase Fundraising Estes Valley Land Trust (Estes Park, Colo.): Confirming Strategic Direction and New Fundraising Capacity High Line Canal Conservancy (Centennial, Colo.): High Line Canal Conservation Easement Stewardship Support La Plata Open Space Conservancy (Durango, Colo.): Harnessing the Power of AI and GIS Technologies for Monitoring and Conservation Outreach Montezuma Land Conservancy (Cortez, Colo.): Deepening Roots in Our Community: Transforming a Weedy Lot into a Community Plot Mountain Area Land Trust (Evergreen, Colo.): Master Planning of Mountain Area Land Trust's Sacramento Creek Ranch Palmer Land Conservancy (Colorado Springs, Colo.): Creating a Water Conservation Blueprint: Strategy, Planning and Implementation Southern Plains Land Trust (Lamar, Colo.): A Strategic, Flagship-based Communications Approach at Southern Plains Land Trust The 2025 Community-Centered Conservation Grantees include: Aspen Valley Land Trust (Carbondale, Colo.): Activating Coffman Ranch Public Access Colorado Open Lands (Lakewood, Colo.): An Evaluation of the Conservation Leadership Series to Promote Community-Centered Programs Crested Butte Land Trust (Crested Butte, Colo.): Connecting Community to Conservation Eagle Valley Land Trust (Edwards, Colo.): Community-Centered Conservation Programming with Historically Underrepresented Affinity Groups Estes Valley Land Trust (Estes Park, Colo.): Strengthening the Alliance to Preserve a Local Cultural Site High Line Canal Conservancy (Centennial, Colo.): High Line Canal Northeast Advisory Committee Conservation Education and Engagement Montezuma Land Conservancy (Cortez, Colo.): 2025 ARC Program: Advancing Agriculture, Recreation and Conservation Programming Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust (Del Norte, Colo.): Engaging and Strengthening Community Relationships Within the San Luis Valley 'These investments, made possible by support from Great Outdoors Colorado, help ensure that the conservation community is well-equipped to create a lasting conservation movement that serves all Coloradans,' said Beth Conover, interim executive director for Keep It Colorado. 'We look forward to the benefits these grants will bring to our members and their communities and extend our gratitude to the Land Trust Alliance for their partnership in facilitating the program.' 'Colorado's land trust community is a powerful force for conservation excellence and a source for innovative solutions to issues facing land trusts here and in every corner of the United States,' said Marcie Demmy Bidwell, the southwest senior program manager for the Land Trust Alliance. 'These grants empower land trusts to develop creative projects that cultivate sustainability within their organizations and provide incentives to develop new tools for the land trust movement.' In 2022, Keep It Colorado partnered with the Land Trust Alliance to provide programming for the increased demand from the land trust community to support advancing organizational work. The partnership focused on providing support for land trusts after learning that they are dedicated to expanding their work to support community-centered conservation. Between 2023 and 2025, over $500,000 in grants have assisted 17 organizations with funding for 45 projects. More information about the Land Trust Alliance can be found at and more information about Keep It Colorado can be found at Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Colorado must lead on conservation goals for 2030
Handies Peak Wilderness Study Area in Colorado is the site of mountains shaped by volcanic fire and glacial ice. (Bob Wick/BLM/Public Domain Mark 1.0) As an ecologist and someone who grew up hiking Colorado's foothills and enjoying its alpine streams, I've seen firsthand how our relationship with the land shapes who we are — and what we stand to lose. These landscapes aren't just backdrops for recreation. They're places of memory, meaning and sustenance. And they're at risk. In May 2021, the Biden-Harris administration outlined a hopeful, ambitious vision: conserve 30% of the nation's lands and waters by 2030. Known as '30×30' or the America the Beautiful initiative, the goal was clear — work locally and voluntarily to conserve and restore the lands, waters and wildlife that support and sustain the country. But when the Trump administration rescinded this federal directive, the coordinated momentum was lost. Now, it's up to states like Colorado to carry this vision forward. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The 30×30 initiative goes far beyond drawing boundaries on a map. It's about supporting Tribally-led restoration efforts that honor generations of stewardship. It's about rewarding ranchers, farmers and forest owners who protect soil, water and biodiversity. It's about investing in restoration and resilience projects that create jobs, buffer us from wildfire and drought, and strengthen our climate future. And it's about ensuring every community — especially those historically excluded from public lands access — has nearby green spaces to connect with nature. As someone who's spent the past decade studying ecosystems and the species that depend on them, I can tell you: The stakes are real. Wildlife corridors are shrinking. Watersheds are drying. Pollinators and other keystone species are in decline. These aren't distant problems. They're happening right here, and they're impacting the places we call home. When I think about the future of conservation in Colorado, I think about the families I've met while working on ecological projects — the ranchers eager to pass healthy land on to their kids and the scientists and volunteers planting native species along fire-scarred slopes. These people aren't waiting for action. They're already doing the work. Now, we need policy to meet them there. America the Beautiful has earned the support of Tribal leaders, organizations, and local officials across the country. But to make meaningful progress, we need state-level action that reflects those same values. Fortunately, Colorado has a strong foundation. Programs and coalitions like Keep It Colorado, Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Regional Partnerships Initiative, and the state's Gross Conservation Easement tax credit program are already connecting the dots between conservation and community. But we can — and must — go further. Let's build on that momentum. Let's invest in nature-based climate solutions. Let's strengthen partnerships with Tribes, landowners and local governments. Let's expand access to outdoor spaces and ensure the benefits of conservation flow to every Coloradan. And let's commit — clearly and publicly — to protecting at least 30% of our state's lands and waters by 2030. Our future depends on how we treat the natural world today. The choices we make now will shape the rivers our children fish in, the mountains they hike, and the air they breathe. Colorado has a chance to lead. Let's not miss it. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
