Conservation Easements Preserve Open Lands, Protect Wildlife

In 1971, Carol Karlin conceived of the idea of buying large swaths of scenic mountain property to protect it from development and build trails for public recreation. Shortly thereafter, PLAN Jeffco was formed, and months later, the Jeffco Open Space program was voted into reality. Read the full story here.

Since that time, nearly 58,000 acres have been purchased by Jeffco Open Space, lands that have become Open Space Parks and that have been incorporated into local city and park & recreation district trails and playgrounds. But purchasing lands is not the only way to preserve open space.

Conservation easements, voluntary, legal agreements that permanently limit uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values, are instruments that have protected and preserved some 2.7 million acres in Colorado alone, a number that represents over 6% of private lands in the State.

On National Wildlife Day, September 4th, 2024, Colorado Open Lands* launched a presentation on the value of conservation easements and how they help preserve wildlife. One of the many land trusts in Colorado, COL alone is responsible for preserving over 686,000 acres of private land and over 3200 miles of waterways through 715 projects in 50 counties, all through conservation easements.

Open land and open space conservation is not just for human recreation. Open lands/open spaces are home to myriad feathered, furred and finned critters. They’re home base to hundreds (if not thousands) of species of plants and the insects that pollinate and feed off them. If these open spaces are not protected, if they are not conserved, what is to become of the natural inhabitants of these lands?

See for yourself how important conservation easements are – what they are and how they work. View the YouTube video here.

*In the interest of full disclosure, your webmaster is a member of the Clear Creek Advisory Board of Colorado Open Lands.

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