We applaud President Obama, members of Congress, and specifically Colorado Senator Michael Bennet, for including funding in the recent U.S. Farm Bill to conserve working farms and ranches.  More local land in Eagle County could be preserved forever due to the 2014 Farm Bill.

Recently, the United States Congress passed a U.S. Farm Bill with bipartisan support from both Democrats and Republicans.  President Obama signed the 2014 Farm Bill into law on February 7.  There was a significant silver lining for the permanent conservation of working farms and ranches in rural communities like ours here in Eagle County. 

$1 billion dollars will be provided over the next 10 years to purchase perpetual conservation easements from landowners who are willing to restrict development and help secure food and fiber, clean water, wildlife habitat and our rural ranching heritage.  This new conservation program, called the Agricultural Lands Easement (ALE) Program, is a great investment for future generations of farmers and ranchers across our country and in Eagle County. 

The $1 billion dollars for conservation authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill will keep working farms and ranches in local family hands and reinvest dollars, keeping local communities vital.  It will help ensure that local food will be available in farming communities across the United States, including Eagle County.  Moreover, this law will help to create and secure jobs, helping to restore and maintain our agricultural heritage and ways of life.

The money in the new Agricultural Lands Easement Program will allow the Eagle Valley Land Trust to work with more local landowners to conserve their land and preserve valuable natural resources for our mountain community. This program will allow our local family farmers, ranchers and foresters to choose conservation, keeping their land in production, protecting the quality of our air and water, making locally grown food possible, providing critical wildlife habitat, protecting special places, and supporting rural livelihoods.  It will help ensure that the land that grows our food will not be lost, protecting jobs and community values across the county, the state and our country.

Currently, Eagle Valley Land Trust holds over 5,500 acres of working farms and ranchland under permanent conservation easements in and around Eagle County.  With the passage of the 2014 Farm Bill, we can expect to see a substantial increase in landowners interested in conserving their properties for the benefit of our community and our future generations.  We are excited to promote the Agricultural Lands Easement Program and its financial benefits to local farmers and ranchers so together we may conserve more local land.