Pheasants Forever’s Post

Pardon the long post, but this new Forbes article highlighting Ducks Unlimited has too many gems not to share. 💎 It's important to understand how DU effectively approaches delivering conservation to scale, because that is what this climate crisis calls for. 🌲As the article states, "DU knows they are on the clock to save many threatened habitats before it’s too late." ⏰ "In the era of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing, where companies are struggling to find ways to meet shareholder demands on the environment while staying true to their core values, 💚 DU’s non- confrontational approach to commerce has positioned them well with scores of potential partners who have grown leery of the tactics of the green movement." 🤝 "Leveraging private dollars by attracting matching state and federal funds has been a hallmark of the organization for decades, proving to be an especially effective approach to delivering conservation on scale. 🏛 In 2023, some 49 percent of DU’s revenue came from state and federal funds along with nongovernmental partnerships." 💵 "Despite DU’s success, conservation is facing significant headwinds with growing demands for land and resources. DU knows they are on the clock to save many threatened habitats before it’s too late. 🌊🦆 Because of that urgency, last year the organization announced one of the most ambitious wildlife habitat initiatives ever attempted in North America, the $3 billion dollar Conservation for a Continent campaign. They’re looking to raise the heady sum by 2026 and have already surpassed the $2 billion milestone with two years remaining." 🌟 "To bolster the effort, Cox Enterprises recently announced a $100 million gift to DU’s Wetlands America Trust, the organization’s foundation arm. The gift will come from the James M. Cox Foundation in honor of its long- time chairman Jim Kennedy, a leading conservation philanthropist and veteran DU leader and supporter." 🎉 #wetlands #sustainability #conservation

🌿 Conservation Success! 🌿 The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has successfully conserved the McIntyre Ranch, Alberta’s largest conservation easement, thanks to years of planning and support from funders including Alberta’s government, the Canadian government, Cenovus Energy, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and private foundations. Located near Milk River Ridge, the 22,500-hectare McIntyre Ranch is the largest piece of fescue grasslands remaining on the planet. The easement will protect this vital ecosystem, home to over 150 species, including 27 species of concern like the ferruginous hawk and chestnut-collared longspur. Ralph Thrall III, CEO of McIntyre Ranch, emphasizes the critical role of cattle in maintaining grassland health and biodiversity, likening Canada’s grasslands to the rainforests of South America in their ecological importance. This conservation easement ensures the land remains intact, preventing it from being subdivided or converted for other uses, while allowing sustainable ranching to continue. NCC will conduct ecological monitoring and support stewardship practices to benefit the ranch's diverse species. The NCC has also launched the Prairie Grassland Action Plan to conserve 500,000 hectares of grassland by 2030, addressing the alarming rate of grassland loss in Canada. 🌍 Preserving Grasslands for Future Generations! 🌍 #Conservation #Biodiversity #SustainableRanching #PrairieGrasslands #NatureConservancyCanada #McIntyreRanch #EcologicalPreservation #ClimateAction

Good article talking about partnering with farmers to protect land. Particularly relavent in Solano these days!

How Philanthropy is Preserving the Environment When it comes to land conservation, it’s not the government that must always step in to ensure #environmental protection. This can even be true on public lands owned by the government. The federal government owns about 27% of all #land in the U.S., most of which it manages via the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service. Of the privately owned lands, according to the American Geographical Society, “63% … are farms and ranches, while 32% are forests.” The dwindling elk population is an excellent example for #philanthropy to rally towards #solutions. Tying this with a market-based approach that not only saves the animals but protects private property rights, encourages #freemarket wins and creates #jobs and a win for #sustainability. Here is a link to Philanthropy Roundtable's article published in Nov 2023: https://lnkd.in/eupnSbgE Madeline Fry Schultz Washington Examiner Brian Yablonski Kim Dennis SEARLE FREEDOM TRUST Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) Todd Myers Washington Policy Center Clarice Smith Malka Groden Christopher Tullar Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) Plastic Bank SC Johnson #ranchers #economy #canada #russia #china #montana #london #hawaii #brazil #portland #valuesbasedleadership #valueinvesting #conservation #elk #philanthropymatters #savetheplanet #climateaction #protection #propertyrights #freemarkets #preservation #nature #farms #ranchers #forest #naturebasedsolutions

West Tennessee is Changing... Let’s Protect it Together. “A natural area like this does something for your soul. It just refreshes you every time you get out.” West Tennessee… A vast landscape of wetlands, floodplains, rolling agriculture, and bustling cityscapes intertwined with sleepy southern towns. But this deep-rooted heartland that we cherish, like so many others, is in danger of disappearing. “Just think, thirty years from now, some developer – if I kick the bucket tomorrow – some developer would be out here and it’d be a bunch of houses.” – Nick Nunn, Nunn Farm landowner “Growing up in this area, we have always been outdoors people. I had two brothers, and we lived in a residential neighborhood, but we were five houses away from streams and fields. Between the three of us, we’d come back just nasty from head to toe.” – Jim Gafford, Director of Outreach, WRC This natural beauty and accessibility of West Tennessee has been combatting accelerated change for quite some time. But some things never change, like our connections to this incredible place. While TennGreen Land Conservancy and partners like Wolf River Conservancy work tirelessly to protect our natural resources, it comes down to local residents to protect their private farmlands. “I work in an office all day, and I’m a guy who has to be outside… So, this is a big tract of land that I was able, through TennGreen, to put a conservation easement on. Once stuff go into asphalt, it’s gone—for what I really enjoy, anyway. And so, that was the main thing for me, anyway, to be able to come out here and have it as it was when I bought it.” – Nunn This is why we’re here. And as Tennessee’s oldest accredited statewide land conservancy, TennGreen is beyond committed to protecting all of Tennessee’s resources… For all of us. “Agriculture and farmland are as Tennessean as they come. And it’s up to each of us to be able to support the systems we have here in place. At TennGreen, we very much so value these particular lands." – Alice Hudson Pell, Executive Director, TennGreen Development is necessary for humanity to thrive, but over-development ends in devastation. And placing property into a conservation easement is one of the most powerful protective tools we have as American citizens. “Now that it’s protected forever, I feel confident that anybody who owns it down the road, they have to abide by the rules and restrictions that are in place. Through TennGreen and the easement, I feel like what I wanted to be accomplished has been accomplished.” – Nunn And as West Tennessee continues to develop, nothing can change one simple fact: we are all part of nature. We’re all in this together. And by working together to preserve this incredible state, we’re conserving lands and waters where we’ll all thrive—protecting the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the land that sustains us all. For more information on conservation easements and Tennessee conservation, please visit: tenngreen.org

the path to climate resilience is inspiring

Today, we're exploding with excitement to share the news: We're awarding $840,000 in grants to 10 nonprofit Colorado land trusts! The funds will help land trusts support landowners who have volunteered to protect their properties through conservation. The 15 selected projects will help permanently protect 13,000+ acres of working ranches, wetlands, water rights and wildlife corridors on land that would otherwise be at imminent risk of being subdivided or converted to other uses. This $840,000 investment represents the largest amount of grant funding through our Transaction Cost Assistance Program since we launched it in 2021. The grants will assist landowners, in partnership with nonprofit land trusts across the state, in conserving over 13,000 acres of land that includes critical wildlife habitat; family farms and ranches; 300 acres of wetlands; 45 miles of rivers, perennial streams, and ephemeral creeks; key water rights; and rare species. Projects protect highly developable land, support agricultural resiliency, and preserve scenic character while creating climate resiliency and preserving ecologically diverse landscapes. Give a shout-out to these stellar organizations that were awarded grants today: -Douglas Land Conservancy: "Conservation Connection" Project, Douglas County -Colorado Open Lands: "DeGuelle" Project, Delta County -Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust: "Fuchs Ranch Phase II" Project, Rio Grande County -Colorado West Land Trust: "Bookcliff Vineyard" Project, Mesa County -Montezuma Land Conservancy: "Hackley" Project, Montezuma County -Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust: "JRA Farm" Project, Conejos County -Central Colorado Conservancy: "Maverick Ranch" Project, Fremont County -Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust: "Nine Mile Ranch" Project, Rio Blanco County -Colorado West Land Trust: "North Bend Ranch" Project, Montrose County -Estes Valley Land Trust: "Opal Land and Cattle III" Project, Larimer County -Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust: "Rockin' S Ranch" Project, Conejos County -Colorado West Land Trust: "Sanders Orchards" Project, Mesa County -Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust: "Shepherd Hill Land and Livestock Ranch" Project, Elbert, El Paso and Lincoln Counties -Montezuma Land Conservancy: "Sturdevant" Project, Dolores County -Colorado Open Lands: "Youth Seen" Project, Douglas County Keep It Colorado's Transaction Cost Assistance Program is generously funded by Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), Ducks Unlimited and Walton Family Foundation. The GOCO board approved its portion of the awards at its board meeting today. We're incredibly grateful for the partnership of these groups. Congratulations all around. It's a big day for conservation. #conservation #naturelover #coloradoutdoors #coloradowildlife

A few of our teammates are based in the southern states that will be affected by this recently announced slate of conservation grants for longleaf pine. We love to see it. 🌲 🌲 🌲 "The longleaf pine ecosystem is one of the most biodiverse in the world, and supported projects are expected to establish more than 70,000 acres of longleaf pine habitat through plantings and complete prescribed burnings on an additional 430,000 acres throughout Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. Projects will also increase longleaf seedling capacity and assist populations of at-risk wildlife including the gopher tortoise, the red-cockaded woodpecker, and the eastern indigo snake." https://lnkd.in/ehKchmib

America the Beautiful Challenge is a public-private grant program for locally-led ecosystem restoration projects that invest in watershed restoration, resilience, equitable access, workforce development, corridors and connectivity, and collaborative conservation, consistent with America the Beautiful Initiative. The America the Beautiful Challenge coordinates funding from multiple Federal agencies and private philanthropy into one competitive grant program. This streamlines the application process, enabling larger, more impactful cross-boundary projects, while making it easier for states, Tribes, territories, local groups, non-governmental organizations, and others to apply for multiple funds with one application. This one-stop-shop solicitation is the result of financial contributions from the U.S. Department of the Interior through the Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Forest Service, the U.S. Department of Defense, and Native Americans in Philanthropy, as well as private philanthropy. The America the Beautiful Challenge seeks to advance conservation and restoration projects that are consistent with the principles outlined in the Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful report and that focus on at least one of the following core areas of need: Conserving and restoring rivers, coasts, wetlands, and watersheds Conserving and restoring forests, grasslands, and other important ecosystems that serve as carbon sinks Connecting and reconnecting wildlife corridors, large landscapes, watersheds, and seascapes Improving ecosystem and community resilience to coastal flooding, drought, and other climate-related threats Expanding access to the outdoors, particularly in underserved communities Applicants are encouraged to develop large landscape scale and/or cross jurisdictional projects that advance existing conservation plans or are informed by Indigenous Traditional Knowledge. Learn More Here: https://ow.ly/6XnN50QPeNW

Chearsley Wetland: A Model of Successful Partnership and Habitat Restoration We are pleased to mark the two-year anniversary of the Chearsley Wetland project, where 17 hectares of floodplain grassland have been expertly transformed into a thriving wetland ecosystem. This initiative is a testament to the power of collaboration, bringing together the RTCT, Freshwater Habitats Trust, Environment Agency, and organic farmer Rose Dale. Hilary Phillips, RTCT’s senior project officer, reflects on the project’s success: "Seeing how quickly the land has recovered...gives me hope that we can help to restore nature across our depleted landscapes." Thanks to the collective efforts, the site now supports a diverse range of wildlife, including dragonflies, herons, and the rare great egret. The Chearsley Wetland is a shining example of how effective partnership working can lead to significant environmental gains. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ePhgMMsz #WetlandRestoration #Conservation #Partnership #RiverThame #SustainableFarming