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CCT Programs & Accomplishments
CCT Initiatives
Promoting Statewide Coordination and Leadership
“CCT worked closely with us to make intelligent decisions about our role and the impact on the Front Range Mountain Backdrop.”
- Brad Feld, managing director of Mobius Venture Capital and Founder and Chairman of the Front Range Alliance, an organization established to educate the public about issues and projects affecting the Front Range Mountain Backdrop and to devise strategies to preserve its open space and scenic vistas.
CCT recognizes that financial investments alone are not enough to protect Colorado’s lands. We advance long term conservation goals by identifying statewide priorities, developing conservation plans, and forming strategic partnerships between funders, landowners, conservation organizations, and governmental agencies. This year, CCT will publish a State of the State Report that will address the current state of land conservation, including land protected, future needs, and recommendations on how to effectively advance conservation.
Strengthening the Effectiveness of Conservation Organizations
Capacity Building Grants
Through capacity building grants, CCT is building the infrastructure of organizations so they may maximize their conservation efforts and overall impact in Colorado communities. CCT capacity building grants have helped organizations: 1) hire a first staff person, 2) implement plans and policies to ensure sustainable conservation programs, and 3) create a development plan and increase fundraising capacity. CCT has made a total of $250,000 in capacity building grants to nine conservation organizations.
Examples of CCT’s Capacity Building Grants
Building a land trust’s fundraising capacity:
Significant growth in Larimer and northern Weld counties in recent years has placed new development pressures on the region’s open lands. To keep up with this growth, the one local land trust faced a critical and urgent need to grow and expand its conservation easement program. However, small staff size - one full time staff person - and limited fundraising capacity restricted the number of conservation transactions the land trust could complete each year, leaving more high resource value open land at risk of development.
To do more conservation deals and to support a growing easement program, the land trust needed a sustainable funding base. In 2004, CCT made a $70,000 grant to help the organization hire its first full-time development staff person responsible for raising funds for the local conservation program.
The grant will also help the land trust develop a three-year fundraising plan, which will provide a road map for meeting fundraising needs and goals.
Helping a land trust hire its first staff:
Established in 1997, the local land trust in the Wet Mountain Valley had a strong presence in the community from the beginning. Through active involvement in community outreach and fundraising efforts, the organization garnered and maintained strong local support. However, as an all-volunteer organization, the land trust did not have the capacity to complete many conservation easement transactions. Seven transactions had been completed by the end of 2001.
Population in the Wet Mountain Valley grew by 82% between 1990 and 2000 and in 1996, Custer County was the fourth fastest growing county in the nation. Development pressure on working ranches and open lands in the valley increased dramatically. To handle the growing conservation needs of the area and to keep up with day-to-day operations, the land trust needed a full time staff person.
CCT made a $60,000 grant in 2001 to fund the organization’s first ever, full time executive director. The result: 26 Wet Mountain Valley properties that total 11,600 acres are now protected by the land trust. Furthermore, the work of the land trust is now recognized by other conservation organizations throughout Colorado and in other parts of the west, and the scope of its work is expanding.
Land Trust Accreditation Program
Protecting Colorado's important landscapes will not be achieved solely through investments in purchasing land. Long-term conservation success requires us to build the long-term capacity of Colorado land trusts to steward the land and to effectively manage non-profit organizations.
To increase the effectiveness of conservation organizations, CCT has been working with the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts and the Land Trust Alliance to develop a set of benchmarks and indicators for assessing the work of land trusts. Thirty land trusts have used this tool to conduct self-assessments. The results of those assessments provide guidance about best practices and identify areas where improvement is needed. The Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts held a training session in February 2004 to help land trusts address better recordkeeping methods. This effort is the first step in achieving an overall goal of developing an accreditation program for land trusts in Colorado and nationwide.
In 2005, CCT will:
- Help partners conduct 3-5 in-depth assessments of individual land trusts.
- Develop and implement a training and education program to address deficiencies in land trust practices.
- Begin work with land trusts to improve these practices.
CCT Fellowship Program: Developing Tomorrow’s Conservation Leaders
CCT's fellowship program places graduates from leading graduate schools of conservation, natural resources, law, and business with land trusts and local government open space programs for two-year fellowships. Fellows assist with such projects as land stewardship, conservation easement transactions, conservation planning, public outreach, legal issues, and water conservation studies.
This hands-on training ground assists fellows as they launch their careers and guides them in their development into stewards of Colorado 's lands. The program also provides conservation groups with additional capacity to pursue new projects, increase fundraising and accomplish long-term organizational goals. In addition to specific work for the land trust or open space program, the Fellowship Program includes a unique professional development curriculum that covers a broad variety of topics. As part of this education component, Fellows network with land trust professionals, attend conferences and trainings, participate in community outreach efforts, and learn about current issues facing conservation and the non-profit sector. Details on the professional development curriculum are attached.
Upon completion of the CCT Fellowship program, Fellows have attained and honed skills that prepare them for careers and leadership roles in land conservation.
For more information on the fellowship program, please email us at eolson@coct.org or contact us by phone at (720) 565-8289.
Current Fellow Profiles
First Year Fellows
Drew Bennett
Mesa Land Trust (Grand Junction)
Drew is a Front Range native and attended the University of Denver where he earned a B.S. in Environmental Science and an M.B.A. After leaving Denver, he completed an M.A. in Geography at the University of Texas at Austin. During his studies at Texas, he worked on a research project investigating land-use issues in indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Drew has also worked as a Biodiversity Monitoring Intern with The Nature Conservancy of Colorado and as a Naturalist with the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies. Drew will work on GIS mapping projects, conservation easement transactions, and a variety of other projects until his Fellowship ends in September 2009.
Stacey Brangenberg
Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts (Denver)
Stacey received her Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University where she studied Biology, Psychology, and Animal Behavior. After spending some time as a Research Assistant and an Environmental Laboratory Technician, Stacey enrolled in Law School at the University of Colorado where her focus was on Natural Resource Law. She was admitted to the Colorado Bar in October 2006. As a fellow at CCLT, she will be helping with many projects including grant writing, fundraising, and CCLT’s annual conference. Stacey’s Fellowship will last through September 2009.
Julie Crawford
Montezuma Land Conservancy (Cortez)
Julie earned a M.S. degree in Forestry and a B.S. degree in botany, both from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. She is currently working toward a doctoral degree in terrestrial ecology through the University of Pavia in Italy. Julie has worked as a botanist for federal, state, and not-profit agencies and organizations in the western US since 1989; her research emphases included the effects of fire and climate change on vegetation, and investigations into individual plant species distribution and ecology. Her work with MLC will include the creation of a strategic conservation plan, conservation easement monitoring, land protection, and GIS program development. Julie’s Fellowship will last through July 2009.
Natalie Lutz
Black Canyon Land Trust (Montrose)
Natalie graduated with honors, cum laude, from Colorado State University in 2001 with a Bachelor's of Science in Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism. Natalie attended Vermont Law School, graduating in 2005 with a Juris Doctor. In addition to her law degree, she obtained a
Master of Studies in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School in 2006. Natalie is a member of the State Bar of Colorado. As a native of Colorado, Natalie has a strong commitment to preserve the diverse cultural and natural landscapes of the State. While at Black Canyon Land Trust, Natalie will work on various projects that include the organization's Land Trust Alliance Accreditation Application and legal review of conservation easements. Natalie's Fellowship will last until July of 2009.
Emily Saeli
Legacy Land Trust/Larimer County Parks and Open Lands – Split Fellowship (Loveland)
Emily Saeli attended Colorado State University, where she studied community-based collaborative resource management and natural resources policy as part of her MS in Forest Sciences. Her graduate research focused on the collaborative development of community wildfire protection plans. She was also a Teaching Assistant for the course Natural Resources History and Policy. While in grad school Emily worked part-time at an environmental consulting firm, and spent a summer working as a seasonal research assistant for the Colorado State Forest Service. She has volunteered on forest stewardship projects with the Colorado State Forest Service since 2004, and prior to her fellowship she volunteered at Legacy Land Trust. As a fellow with CCT, Emily will split her time between Legacy Land Trust, where she conducts conservation easement monitoring as the Stewardship Coordinator, and Larimer County Parks and Open Lands, where she assists with conservation easement baselines and monitoring, as well as with other stewardship, public relations, and fund-raising projects.
Second Year Fellows
• Tawnya Ernst
Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust ( Arvada )
Tawnya recently earned a Master's degree in Parks and Protected Area Management at Colorado State University . Her research in the program focused on land conservation efforts in Larimer County . In addition to her education, Tawnya has also worked for National Park Service's Office of Education and Outreach and Kansas State University 's Kansas Center for Agricultural Resources for the Environment. During her Fellowship with CCALT, Tawnya will focus primarily on development and stewardship of conservation easements in selected communities in Colorado . Tawnya's Fellowship will last through August of 2008.
• Aaron Welch
Ducks Unlimited/ Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust – Split Fellowship (Alamosa)
Aaron Welch is a Front Range native and recent graduate of Yale University 's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies were he earned a Master's degree in environmental science. He is excited to be back in Colorado after two years on the East Coast and another couple of years in the Dominican Republic where he served as an agroforestry extentionist with the Peace Corps. Aaron will split his time between DU and RiGHT working on a variety of projects including land protection, the Rio Grande Initiative, Education, Development, Outreach, and Administrative duties until July of 2008.
• Kevin League
San Isabel Land Protection Trust (Westcliffe)
Kevin received his Master's Degree in Geography with a focus in conservation and natural resources from the University of Colorado at Boulder . Kevin's thesis focused on regional climate effects on a Ponderosa Pine establishment along the lower montane ecotone of the Front Range of Colorado. Kevin has also spent time working on a fire effects study for the Rocky Mountain Research Station and as a biological and Forestry Technician in Colorado . While at San Isabel, Kevin will work on various projects including fundraising, stewardship, membership development, and GIS projects. Kevin's Fellowship will last until September of 2008.
• Jennifer Young
Adams County Parks (Brighton)
Jennifer received her law degree from Saint Louis University School of Law. After graduation, Jennifer moved from the Midwest to Colorado to attend a Master of Laws program in Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Through the program, Jennifer learned about land conservation and the negotiation of conservation easements. To further her knowledge of land conservation, Jennifer volunteered with the City and County of Broomfield Open Space and Trails while working as a law clerk at the Eighteenth Judicial District Court. As a Fellow, Jennifer will track all land protected within Adams County , identify future land to be protected, develop action plans for acquiring lands, and assist in grant writing. Jennifer's Fellowship will last until February of 2009.
Alumni Profiles
• Hillary Merritt
Law degree from the University of Colorado
Fellow from 2005-2007 at the Trust for Public Lands, Denver, CO
Current Status: Program Manager with Trust for Public Lands
• Kathleen Staks
Law degree from the University of Denver
Fellow from 2006-2007 at Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts, Denver, CO
Current Status: Program Coordinator for Open Space with Great Outdoors Colorado, Denver
• Ilana Moir
Master’s degree from Duke University
Fellow from 2005-2007 at Mesa Land Trust, Grand Junction, CO
Current Status: Glade Park Land Protection Specialist for Mesa Land Trust
• Greg Good
Master's Degree from Washington State University
Fellow from 2005-2006 at Larimer County Parks and Open Lands
Loveland , CO
Current status: Deputy Director with the Orient Land Trust in Saguache County , Colorado
• Ray Ilg
Master's Degree from the University of Maine
Fellow from 2004-2006 at Colorado Cattleman's Agricultural Land Trust, Arvada, CO
Current status : Conservation Manager at the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust, Arvada , Colorado
• Brian Ocepek
Law degree from Ohio Northern University
Master's degree in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School
Fellow from 2004-2006 at Colorado Open Lands, Lakewood, CO
Current status: Land Steward Specialist with Colorado Open Lands
• Michele d'Hemecourt
Master's Degree from Duke University
Fellow from 2004-2005 at the Mesa Land Trust, Grand Junction, CO
Current status : Land Protection Specialist with the Land Trust for Central North Carolina
• Chrissy Sloan
Law degree from the University of Colorado
Fellow from 2004-2005 at the Aspen Valley Land Trust, Carbondale, CO Current status : Currently holds a position at a law firm that specializes in water law in Glenwood Springs , CO
CCT Initiatives
CCT Programs & Accomplishments Links
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