Working Lands Helping Hands— An Innovative Approach to Conserving Working Lands

BY NATALIE ALLIO

The scope of the Working Lands Helping Hands project is developing new approaches for conserving open working lands as wildlife habitat and scenic resources. The project provides three innovative, replicable, scalable and enduring programs to support top needs expressed by and exercise, enjoy great views, wildlife sightings, learn about which noxious weeds they should be pulling, which native plants grow well in the area, support local ranchers, and help protect and enhance the lands they love. For the ranchers, it is an opportunity to help build relationships with their neighbors and help transfer knowledge about what is needed to support working lands. It is also an opportunity to get some help on seasonal chores like:

Envision project data indicate that roughly 90% of local agricultural operators desire to keep their lands in production for this and future generations. In addition, Envision survey data across all stakeholder groups in the county indicate that 97% of citizens believe that working landscapes are important to their quality of life— supporting open views, ground water recharge, wildlife habitat, local foods, community culture and economic viability.

However, agricultural business owners express serious concerns about their ability to achieve their vision of sustainable operations. That concern centers around rapidly increasing economic impacts resulting from population growth. Conflicts with new neighbors—many from urban areas outside of Colorado— increased.

• Wildlife habitat enhancement projects such as creating burrows for burrowing owl habitat

• Helping ranchers with ditch cleaning: including willow trimming, tree clearing, raking leaves and sticks, clearing out debris

• Helping farmers with weeding and irrigation

• Filling rock cribs for fencing anchor points

The specific challenge and programs addressed were initially identified by Envision Chaffee County, a countywide planning effort convened by the Chaffee County Board of Commissioners and engaging over 1,500 citizens and 72 nonprofit organizations, agencies and businesses.

Analysis shows that on a countywide scale, 30% of Chaffee County’s agricultural lands have been lost to development since 1982, and 62% of new development has occurred in unincorporated rural agricultural areas. Agricultural land loss is accelerating as local population grows. The state demographer’s forecast projects a 31% increase from 2016 to 2030 in Chaffee County, while Colorado adds an estimated 1.5 million new residents. Thus. it was clear that supporting agricultural operations is essential to keeping Colorado’s working lands working, protecting the open space, ecosystem services (such as ground water recharge, wildlife habitat, carbon sequestration, etc.) and cultural assets.

Of crucial concern is a looming tipping point— where local agricultural support services, operator expertise and “critical mass” productivity are no longer sufficient to sustain agricultural operations, resulting in a rapid loss of remaining agricultural lands and their associated open space and provision of ecosystem services critical to both residents and visitors to the area and the state.

The conflicts are diverse and include: community pushback on projects designed to increase economic viability, lawsuits over grazing rights/ water rights/ grazing leases, new residents angry about ditches being cleaned, and conflicts between cattle, mountain bikers and new garden owners. The list is disquietingly long. In the words of Brady Everett, 6th generation rancher, “The pressure is real, something I call ‘death by 1,000 cuts. It is my hope that our children will want to continue our family’s ranching legacy. One of my biggest fears is that the ever-increasing population will cause both our children and the ranch to succumb’”.

Yet, Envision survey data indicate that 97% of community members think working lands enhance their quality of life. That’s where Working Lands Helping Hands comes in. This project is one of 40 other projects resulting from the Envision program, developed by Action Teams involving 180 diverse citizen volunteers. This program provides hands-on experiences to help connect new residents to the value of open land agricultural landscapes and help them learn to be good neighbors by connecting new resident volunteers to support critical seasonal agricultural landowner needs (for example, new residents volunteering to help spring cleaning of agricultural ditches). Currently our Hands for Lands Volunteer list is now 152 members strong.

Volunteers get involved to get out on the beautiful lands that surround the community, be part of a team, get fresh air

• Cleaning trash out of ditch

• Forest cleanup for Aspen regeneration

• Removing old barbed wire fences and Russian olive on State Wildlife Areas

• Fencing native trees to protect them from beaver damage

• Planting willows and other native shrubs along rivers and streams

• Installing a gate at a new State Wildlife Area

• Planting native trees/shrubs at State Wildlife Areas

• Building erosion control structures like Zeedyk one rock dams

Ultimately, the Working Lands, Helping Hands and Hands for the Land programs bring people together to preserve and protect the working lands that ideally serve their communities. By building relationships across different portions of a community, everyone wins—the land, animals, and people.

Natalie Allio co-manages Badger Creek Ranch near Canon City, Colorado and is on the board of the Upper Arkansas Conservation District.

Volunteer Testimonial

“The word that came to my mind as I drove home from a Kelly Ranch workday is “honored.” I am honored to have been a part of what was accomplished by the teams of CCC volunteers this morning. I am honored to have met the Kellys and to have been on their beautiful ranch.

Now I think of CCC and all it has accomplished in preserving these lands in perpetuity. I think of the hard working ranch families to whom we owe so much for their preservation of an historic, important way of life. I took a few photos, with permission. One speaks to me of the sense of peace and gratitude I felt while on the Kelly Ranch. Yes, I am honored to have had this experience and look forward to more.”

—E. Backinger