September 2019 Newsletter
Partners for Conservation Hosts Private Lands Partners Day and Diverse Perspective Partnerships for Team Leaders in September

September was a very busy month for Partners for Conservation. During the third week in September we hosted a "Diverse Perspective Partnerships for Team Leaders" workshop in Denver, which convened landowners and nonprofit leaders with federal and state agency supervisors whose teams work with diverse partners. During the last week of September PFC hosted the 12th Annual Private Lands Partners Day in Ogden, Utah, which drew 170 landowners and conservation partners from around Utah and around the country.

In Aug/Sep each of 6 states/regions of the U.S. announced the finalists who had been selected for the prestigious 2019 Leopold Conservation Award® 

Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the award recognizes farmers and foresters who inspire others with their dedication to land, water and wildlife habitat management on private, working land. In Wisconsin the $10,000 award is presented annually by Sand County Foundation, Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association. 

Do you want better insurance for your Rx fire?
Liability insurance has become one of the major barriers to prescribed fire. If private companies, contractors, land trusts, and non-profits cannot obtain sufficient insurance, they are unable to implement prescribed burning. These non-federal partners are essential for increasing the pace and scale of forest restoration.

The Forest Stewards Guild is currently conducting a survey to better understand the current insurance needs for private consultants and NGO prescribed fire practitioners . The information that they gather from this survey can help them work with other organizations and landowners to improve insurance products for prescribed burning. Please share this survey with any consultants or NGO practitioners that you think would be willing to participate. The survey will be open for a few weeks. 
Partner/Private Lands News
Ranching & Agriculture

Website to link farmers with hopefuls looking for land to farm, by promoting land available in 4 counties of NE Arkansas.

States that embrace innovative new ways to finance on-farm conservation can deliver multiple benefits to farmers, state residents, taxpayers and the environment - some of the programs reviewed include state loans, tax credits, and environmental assurances.

Greensville County, VA offering real estate tax relief for elderly

Gibson County TN Fairgrounds hosts ‘Ag Day’ for students

Farm to Table Dinner in Havana, ND highlights locally sourced ingredients

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has millions of dollars available for conservation efforts on land in Iowa that was flooded this year.
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has $36 million available to fund conservation easements on agricultural lands damaged by flooding statewide.

Wildlife habitat program conserves land in B.C. delta

Conservation group backs beef sector: Ducks Unlimited wants people to see cattle as protectors of ‘threatened wetlands and grasslands.

Ranchers are 'true heroes' of grasslands, conservation leader says

Prairie Day at Dunn Ranch Prairie and Pawnee Prairie in Harrison County, MO

Water

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking public input on its National Water Reuse Action Plan draft during a 90-day comment period.

RCPP shifts direction of conservation program with standalone funding.

Finalist in 2019 West Virginia Conservation Farm of the Year competition focuses on water quality and soils

Land conservation matters for the Chesapeake Bay: Chesapeake Bay watershed contains some of the most beautiful landscapes anywhere in the country, and they are rapidly disappearing. 

Wildlife, Recreation & Education

Niman Ranch Farmer Network to Resurface Monarch Highway with $200,000 Commitment to Help Stem 80% Loss of Iconic Pollinator

New plan for the National Bison Range details habitat upgrades, wildlife protection

Forests

Scotts Bluff National Monument in NE offers Every Kid Outdoors program

Maine is 95 percent privately owned. How are you going to recover endangered species if you do not collaborate and involve private landowners?
A NOTE FROM THE BOARD AND STAFF OF PFC

Greetings from Ogden, Utah!

We’ve just finished up with a great week here in Ogden. We started with a Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday September 24th and hosted the 12th Annual Private Lands Partners Day Wednesday and Thursday. 

We gathered with 170 landowners and conservation partners to hear about just some of the great collaborative work going on in Utah and in many other parts of the country. We heard some great stories from some great storytellers, both landowners and partners, who are working hard across the country to sustain agricultural and forest product production, natural resources including wildlife and fisheries, and rural human communities. 

We want to extend a big Thank You to all the people and organizations that planned and executed the meeting as well as our speakers, attendees and generous sponsors. We are already getting excited for Oregon in 2020 and announced at the meeting that we will be going to Arkansas in 2021. If you missed Utah we really hope to see you in Oregon!

Yours in Conservation
Board and Staff of Partners for Conservation
Our Amazing Grasslands

Meet Charlie Totton of Totton Ranch, who said of his operation in the beginning, 21 years ago: “If you season-long graze, it’s like sitting in your car and hitting the starter until your battery dies.” Then he attended the SD Grazing School and began rotational grazing, and that changed everything. 
Playas Work for Kansas: Water for Communities

Tony Winter has farmed near Leoti, Kansas, most of his life and participates in the Wichita County Water Conservation Area (WCA). The group’s goal is to reduce water use and provide a sustainable future for the town of Leoti. “I see water as the main issue for survival of Leoti. Water keeps our local economy going. We have to preserve our water or there won't be future generations out here. Playas definitely play a role in extending the aquifer. We’re voluntarily reducing our water usage and the playa program is another great way to prolong our water table.”
#FridaysOnTheFarm 

Meet Gary Carder, veteran and owner of Capream Dairy in Prescott, Arizona. This Grade-A goat dairy specializes in the production of milk, gelato, and cheese, which are sold at retail locations around the state.

Each Friday, meet diverse farmers, producers, and landowners through #FridaysOnTheFarm stories. Visit local farms, ranches, forests, and resource areas where USDA customers and partners do right and feed everyone. 
Nature's Good Neighbors

If you take a drive through Oregon’s Willamette Valley, you’ll notice lush green rolling hillsides and stands of majestic white oaks, with small towns, farms and vineyards sprinkled throughout. Just west of Salem, you’ll find Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, a 2,492-acre slice of heaven. It’s proof that farmers, landowners and imperiled native wildlife can thrive, side by side.


The US Fish and Wildlife Service launched Nature’s Good Neighbors in 2018, a series of stories showcasing conservationists across the nation, many of whom are private landowners with some on the PFC board!
ABOUT PARTNERS FOR CONSERVATION

Partners for Conservation (PFC) is a private landowner-led organization which communicates and collaborates on conservation partnerships for working landscapes to benefit present and future generations. 
Consider Joining Partners for Conservation
Consider becoming a member of Partners for Conservation. Partners for Conservation works to support collaboration and public-private partnerships as the first choice for conserving our national working landscapes for people and nature. More information on membership can be found on our website. 
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