Colorado Leopold Conservation Award Seeks Nominees
October 22, 2019
Nominations are now being accepted for the prestigious Leopold Conservation Award® honoring agricultural landowners in Colorado who demonstrate outstanding stewardship and management of natural resources.
Sand County Foundation, the nation’s leading voice for conservation of private land, presents the Leopold Conservation Award to private landowners in 20 states for extraordinary achievement in voluntary conservation. In Colorado, the $10,000 award is presented with the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, and USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the award recognizes landowners who inspire others with their dedication to land, water and wildlife habitat management on private, working land. In his influential 1949 book, “A Sand County Almanac,” Leopold called for an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage.
Nominations may be submitted on behalf of a landowner, or landowners may nominate themselves. The application can be found at: https://www.sandcountyfoundation.org/uploads/CO-CFN-2020.pdf
The application deadline date is February 1, 2020. Applications can be emailed to maggie@ccalt.org. If mailed, applications must be postmarked by February 1, and mailed to:
Leopold Conservation Award
c/o Colorado Cattlemen’s Association
8833 Ralston Road
Arvada, CO 80002-2239.
“The Leopold Conservation Award not only highlights the positive influences agriculture has on the environment, our communities, and our economy, but also teaches others about the heritage of natural resource stewardship on working landscapes,” said Steve Wooten, 2018 Leopold Conservation Award recipient and Colorado Cattlemen’s Association president.
“Leopold Conservation Award recipients are at the forefront of a movement by America’s farmers and ranchers to simultaneously achieve economic and environmental success,” said Kevin McAleese, Sand County Foundation President and Chief Executive Officer.
The Leopold Conservation Award Program in Colorado is made possible thanks to the generous partnership and support of Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Assoc., USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, The Gates Family Foundation, The Stanko Ranch, American AgCredit, McDonald’s, The Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, and The Nature Conservancy.
The first Colorado Leopold Conservation Award recipient, Capps Ranch of Walsenburg, was selected in 2003. Livingston Ranch of Stratton received the award in 2019.
LEOPOLD CONSERVATION AWARD PROGRAM
The Leopold Conservation Award is a competitive award that recognizes landowner achievement in voluntary conservation. Sand County Foundation presents the award in California, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, and in New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont). www.leopoldconservationaward.org
SAND COUNTY FOUNDATION
Sand County Foundation inspires and enables a growing number of private landowners to ethically manage natural resources in their care, so future generations have clean and abundant water, healthy soil to support agriculture and forestry, plentiful habitat for wildlife and opportunities for outdoor recreation. www.sandcountyfoundation.org
ABOUT COLORADO CATTLEMEN’S ASSOCIATION
As the only organization exclusively representing the state's more than 12,000 beef producers, CCA serves members by speaking out on behalf of Colorado's beef producers and landowners to state and national legislators, agencies, media and consumers. The association is primarily funded through voluntary membership dues contributed by its members. coloradocattle.org
ABOUT COLORADO CATTLEMEN’S AGRICULTURAL LAND TRUST
Recognizing the need to help Colorado’s ranching and farming families protect their agricultural lands, in the face of growing development and economic pressures, the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association in 1995 formed the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT). To date, CCALT has partnered with hundreds of ranching families in the protection of more than 565,000 acres. ccalt.org
ABOUT TRI-STATE GENERATION & TRANSMISSION ASSOCIATION
Tri-State Generation & Transmission Assn. is a wholesale electric power supplier owned by the 43 electric cooperatives and public power districts it serves. Tri State Generation & Transmission Assoc. generates and transports electricity to its member systems across Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming. tristategt.org
USDA NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE (NRCS)
NRCS is a federal agency committed to helping private landowners care and make healthy choices for the land and water, while using them productively. Through voluntary incentive-based programs, the NRCS works directly with farmers, ranchers, forest owners and other land stewards to provide technical expertise and financial assistance to make conservation work on private lands. www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/co/home/