Conservation Easement Monitoring and Baseline Reporting
Conservation Easement Monitoring
CNHP ecologists are partnering with The Nature Conservancy of Colorado to monitor prairie vegetation condition on a number of conserved ranches in eastern Colorado. Repeated monitoring helps the landowners and easement holders ensure that habitat goals for important shortgrass prairie species such as Mountain Plover, Lesser Prairie Chicken, swift fox, and box turtle are being met under current management practices.
Conservation Easement Baseline Reporting
CNHP science staff are currently working with land trusts, property owners, consultants and interested agencies to explore how our program can engage with the private lands conservation community and contribute to the conservation planning process for conservation easements.
Every time a conservation easement is established, the easement holder needs a baseline report for the property. This report describes in detail the current condition of the eased portion of the property, in terms of biotic and abiotic resources, and also includes any rights/prohibitions and existing infrastructure. This report becomes the baseline against which required subsequent monitoring is done by the easement holder (usually a land trust). CNHP is partnering with the private lands conservation community in Colorado to complete these reports.
