Land Trusts Receive $172,000 in Grants to Advance Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
and Organizational Development Initiatives  

Grants from Keep It Colorado and Land Trust Alliance aim to strengthen conservation sector

July 31, 2023 – DENVER – Keep It Colorado and the Land Trust Alliance have awarded $172,000 in grants to land trusts to help them strengthen and build programs that aim to create a more diverse, equitable, inclusive and just conservation sector, and advance organizational capacity. After a competitive application process, Keep It Colorado and Land Trust Alliance awarded funds to nine land trusts for 14 projects. Investments from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) generously funded this initiative through Keep It Colorado’s Emerging Conservation Opportunities program.

Land trusts that received grant awards are seeking to expand their work and missions to engage more communities in conservation (“community-centered conservation”) and ensure that all Coloradans benefit equitably from land conservation – while sustaining their organizations’ capacity to conserve and protect land.

“Financial investments in conservation today are a great service to Colorado’s landscapes and the people and wildlife who call Colorado home,” said Linda Lidov, interim executive director for Keep It Colorado. “Generous grant programs like this one from GOCO will help the conservation community build a more inclusive, lasting and relevant conservation movement. Keep It Colorado is so grateful to GOCO for its vision, and to the Land Trust Alliance for its partnership in helping us bring the vision to life.”

“The Land Trust Alliance is proud to partner with Keep It Colorado in supporting land trusts focused not only on conserving Colorado’s beautiful landscapes and working lands, but ensuring that all Coloradans benefit equitably from that conservation,” said Marcie Bidwell, the Southwest program manager for the Land Trust Alliance. “We’re incredibly grateful to the folks at Great Outdoors Colorado for their generous support of these programs, allowing the Alliance and Keep It Colorado to provide funding, training, peer support and more to land trusts across the state. These projects will expand access to a diverse spectrum of Coloradans including Black, Indigenous, Hispanic and Latino and other people of color, LGBTQIA+ people, low-income communities and people with disabilities.”

Land trusts that received grants to support community-centered conservation and diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) work are:

1.      Aspen Valley Land Trust, Carbondale, Colorado: $10,000
Consulting for Successful Community Conservation

Aspen Valley Land Trust will apply grant funds toward ongoing, internal consultation support to, in turn, support the organization’s external DEIJ work and community conservation programs. Aligning with goals in its strategic conservation plan, this work will help ensure the land trust is providing a safe, welcoming culture for new staff and board members from marginalized communities; developing partnerships; and expanding its work in an equitable, respectful and inclusive manner.

2.      Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust, Lakewood, Colorado: $10,000
Building Bridges: Strengthening CCALT’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust will utilize its funding to secure consulting services that provide recommendations for building a more inclusive and resilient organization. The land trust’s aim is to continue to provide meaningful conservation services to agricultural landowners across Colorado and deliver impactful conservation outcomes to the citizens of Colorado into the future.

3.      Colorado West Land Trust, Grand Junction, Colorado: $15,000
Cross-Cultural Partnerships & Indigenous Land Access - Relationship Building and Planning

Colorado West Land Trust will work with members of the Ute tribal community to develop a plan and pilot projects for indigenous land access. The tribes called Western Colorado home before being removed from the land to live on reservations. The grant will help the land trust develop a process to help build relationships, establish trust, and identify opportunities to develop programs that advance understanding with and land access for members of the Ute tribes – starting with development of a meaningful Indigenous Harvest program that meets the needs of the Ute community.

4.      Eagle Valley Land Trust, Edwards, Colorado: $10,000
Eagle Valley Land Trust Conservation Center Bilingual Signage and Materials

Eagle Valley Land Trust will leverage its funding to create a Community Conservation Center, which will serve as a gathering place for its community to connect with local conservation and each other in partnership with the Eagle Valley Outdoor Movement. Inspired by community feedback and requests, the project will house an accessible gear library and bilingual skill-building workshops to address distinct barriers to open space access in the Eagle Valley community.

5.      Estes Valley Land Trust, Estes Park, Colorado: $10,000
An Inclusive Model for Conservation

Estes Valley Land Trust is working with a public university’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Native American Student Services; other public interests; and tribal communities to pursue the preservation of a Vision Quest site near Estes Park, Colorado.

6.      La Plata Open Space Conservancy, Durango, Colorado: $15,000
Advancing Equitable Land Access in Southwestern Colorado

The land trust will apply its funding toward the continued development and expansion of its Southwest Equitable Land Access (SELA) Project. LPOSC launched the SELA Project in 2022 in partnership with Montezuma Land Conservancy and Fort Lewis College’s Farmer Training Program after recognizing the need for more equitable and innovative land ownership models to support future farmers and ranchers, especially those who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color. The next phase of the SELA Project will include continued conversations with the community and development of pilot projects centered on innovative land ownership models in the region.

7.      Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust, Del Norte, Colorado: $10,000
Traditional Knowledge, Conservation Priorities, and Land-use History in the Los Sauces Community

Funding for this joint project between the Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust and the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area in the San Luis Valley will provide for targeted outreach to better represent and support the local population, and integrate historically under-represented populations in conservation efforts in the Los Sauces community of Conejos County, and ensure that they are aware of opportunities available via land trusts in light of mounting pressures to sell their land and water. Partnerships will prioritize cultural and historic preservation of local land-use traditions and practices in addition to land protection and restoration.

Land trusts that received grants to support organizational development are:

1.      Aspen Valley Land Trust, Carbondale, Colorado: $15,000
Expanding Conservation Partnerships and Connecting Community Capital Campaign

Aspen Valley Land Trust will use the funds to build its organizational and fundraising capacity to complete a landmark capital campaign in service to the organization’s strategic conservation plan. The plan’s goals include doubling the amount of the land trust’s conserved lands in the next decade, and acquiring and activating community-centered conservation projects that increase engagement with diverse and marginalized communities.

2.      Colorado Open Lands, Lakewood, Colorado: $12,500
Measuring and Communicating the Multi-faceted Benefits of Private Land Conservation in Colorado

Colorado Open Lands will develop systems to meaningfully measure and assess the impacts and benefits of conservation – from enhanced ecosystem function and restoration of groundwater aquifers to preservation of community heritage and community recreational access. Metrics will empower the land trust to better communicate the value of land conservation to elected officials and administrators, and ultimately shape its next strategic plan and ensure the relevancy of its work to all Coloradans.

3.      Colorado West Land Trust, Grand Junction, Colorado: $14,500
Organizational Alignment: Investing in Strategy and Leadership to Ensure Organizational Success

Colorado West Land Trust will leverage its grant to maximize its management and development of the people who are responsible for the land trust’s mission – and who are critical to organizational sustainability and operational excellence. The project focuses on aligning the organization’s mission, strategic plan, business strategy, and human resource strategy. The development of both business and human resource strategies will promote growth of essential leadership competencies and increase staff effectiveness by aligning workforce strategies with organizational objectives.

4.      Eagle Valley Land Trust, Edwards, Colorado: $10,000
Revitalizing Eagle Valley Land Trust’s Branding and Website to Reach More Community

Eagle Valley Land Trust will apply its funds toward revitalizing its branding and communications platforms. This will include an updated brand identity, logo and communications plan, which aims to resonate more inclusively with local audiences based on research completed during the land trust’s strategic planning process.

5.      La Plata Open Space Conservancy, Durango, Colorado: $15,000
Charting Organizational Success through the Development of a Three-year Strategic Plan

La Plata Open Space Conservancy will use its grant to develop a new, three-year strategic plan with four focus areas: conservation priorities, stewardship, governance and long-term financial health. The development of a new strategic plan is timely integrating new leadership, a multi-year grant for expansive community conservation programs, and a prior strategic plan completed in December 2022.

6.      Palmer Land Conservancy, Colorado Springs, Colorado: $10,000
Igniting a Shift for Conservation - A Community Mobilization Impact Campaign

Palmer Land Conservancy will leverage its funding to ignite a culture shift for conservation through a robust social impact campaign. With a documentary film serving as the centerpiece, the campaign aims to spark meaningful change by mobilizing people and communities to shift how they understand, relate to, and ultimately act on behalf of conservation. 

7.      Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust, Del Norte, Colorado: $15,000
RiGHT Organizational Capacity and Strategic Development: Vision and Values for the Future

Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust will invest in organizational capacity, focused on an outreach/communication strategy and defining future goals, including goals to align conservation projects with Keep It Colorado’s Conserving Colorado Roadmap. The land trust will also pursue board expansion, diversification, education and training, as well as executive coaching.

These grant programs directly align with Keep It Colorado’s recently published Conserving Colorado: A 10-year Roadmap for the Future of Private Land Conservation. The roadmap contains five strategic pillars, two of which focus on community-centered conservation and DEIJ and creating a lasting conservation movement. Developed by and for the conservation community, the roadmap calls on the community to double the number of acres conserved, double the number of people engaged in conservation and double the resources needed to support conservation over the next decade – goals that are important to securing a healthy, livable future in Colorado.

About Land Trust Alliance

Founded in 1982, the Land Trust Alliance is a national land conservation organization that works to save the places people need and love by strengthening land conservation across America. The Alliance represents approximately 950 member land trusts supported by more than 250,000 volunteers and 6.3 million members nationwide. The Alliance is based in Washington, D.C., and operates several regional offices. Learn more at landtrustalliance.org/.

About Keep It Colorado

Keep It Colorado serves as a unified voice for conservation organizations focused on private lands conservation, and does so by bringing together land trusts, public agencies and conservation champions around a vision to create a Colorado where people, lands, waters and wildlife thrive. Keep It Colorado advocates for sound public policy; provides connection and collaboration opportunities for conservation partners; offers a forum to address emerging conservation issues and opportunities; pursues sustainable funding and programmatic tools and solutions; and works to advance a culture of conservation in Colorado. Learn more at www.keepitco.org.

Photo: Artist’s rendering of a community-centered conservation project at Coffman Ranch, courtesy Aspen Valley Land Trust.