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Trust Our Land: Financing the lands we depend on

Bergen Tjossem
Trust Our Land
The permanent conservation of Brush Creek Valley Ranch and Open Space was made possible by a long list of partners and donors. Financing conservation projects like this one is a massive community effort.
Todd Winslow Pierce/Special to the Daily

Have you ever wondered who pays for the conservation of local open space? What may strike many as a simple question actually has quite a complicated answer — but don’t let that deter you from a quick snapshot of local conservation finance.

There are a number of mechanisms, partnerships and methods that move conservation projects across the finish line. They range in complexity, from local donations to funds allocated by the U.S. Congress. In Eagle County, when we look at our own conservation landscape, we see a wide variety of finance strategies required to bring about conservation outcomes in progress or already completed. One could literally write a book outlining the diversity of local conservation strategies.

For this first installment of the conservation finance conversation, let’s look at one piece of the local conservation puzzle — the Eagle Valley Land Trust. Over its 40-year history, Eagle Valley Land Trust’s finance strategy has evolved from simple to sophisticated, with an emphasis on long-term sustainability. The focus is on empowering the organization to not only protect new properties in our community, but also permanently monitor and support landowners in upholding conservation values already within the conservation portfolio.



So what does a conservation nonprofit like Eagle Valley Land Trust spend money on? Eagle Valley Land Trust’s five staff members focus on five key areas:

Stewardship: Monitoring conserved land annually in partnership with landowners.

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Project development: Conserving new land, building relationships, cooperatively creating conservation easements that will exist in perpetuity.

Outreach: Empowering our community to enjoy the benefits of conserved land, reducing barriers to access, delivering educational programming and partnering with other organizations to leverage land conservation towards big ideas.

Fundraising: Raising funds to sustain the organization and for conservation projects like Sweetwater Lake.

Organizational infrastructure: Making sure that the organization has the tools, capacity, and resources necessary to make conservation happen.

Like many 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, Eagle Valley Land Trust depends on the generosity of donors, local businesses and sponsors to make conservation happen. In a typical year, over 50% of Eagle Valley Land Trust’s operating revenues come from the generous donations of individuals and families, many of whom underwrite Eagle Valley Land Trust’s conserved properties. Another 8% comes from Land & Rivers businesses like Up The Creek, Alpine Quest Sports, The Drunken Goat and Bonfire Brewing (click here to see the full list).

Just over 30% comes from Eagle Valley Land Trust’s fundraising events like Farm to Fork, which includes the generous sponsorships of companies like Alpine Bank and American Gypsum. The rest of Eagle Valley Land Trust’s operating revenues come from a mix of grants, including Vail Resorts’ EpicPromise and project-related service fees, which help offset the cost of the work required to complete conservation projects.

While digging into the numbers behind conservation can be dry, what is profound is the investment that members of our community — individuals, families and businesses — are willing to provide in order to protect the lands, watersheds, wildlife habitat and scenic views that make our community such an outstanding place to live and explore. It’s because of these ardent supporters that Eagle Valley Land Trust is able to celebrate 40 years of conservation action this year, and plan for many more to come.


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