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Mississippi Valley Conservancy: Climate change
Together, we can make a difference
What is it about the Driftless area you love? Is it the foggy mornings overlooking the valley? Or going fishing with your family in the spring? Perhaps it’s the sounds of migrating sandhill cranes and the call of the spring peepers.
Too often we think of climate change as occurring on a global scale or something that will happen in the future. Yet climate change already is causing profound changes with damaging effects to the land and water you love. Wildlife habitat, lakes and streams, and farmland, right here in the Driftless Area, are at risk as never before.
Learn more about Conservation Innovation Grants
Through creative problem solving and innovation, CIG partners work to address our nation’s water quality, air quality, soil health and wildlife habitat challenges, all while improving agricultural operations.
There are three annual Conservation Innovation Grants funding opportunities…
Healthy soil grants
Vermont farmers have an essential role to play in combating climate change. Some farming practices can trap carbon and keep it out of the atmosphere, while supporting wildlife habitat, healthier soils, and cleaner water. The challenge can be sustaining profitability while making significant changes.
Which practices are worth the investment? And how long will they take to pay off?
To answer these questions and more, we are partnering with Bio-Logical Capital and the University of Vermont on a Conservation Innovation Grant funded by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. This five-year research project will provide direct payments to Vermont farmers who agree to implement farming practices that improve soil health…
Rockland’s biggest, oldest ecological secret
What’s a peat bog? Where’s the Rockland Bog? What’s special about it? Why conserve it? How can you make a difference?
Mississippi Valley Conservancy: Climate Action Plan
What is it about the Driftless area you love? Is it the foggy mornings overlooking the valley? Or going fishing with your family in the spring? Perhaps it’s the sounds of migrating sandhill cranes and the call of the spring peepers.
Too often we think of climate change as occurring on a global scale or something that will happen in the future. Yet climate change already is causing profound changes with damaging effects to the land and water you love: wildlife habitat, lakes and streams, and farmland, right here in the Driftless Area, are at risk as never before.
Solar energy and its place on the land
In a world beset with climate change and its attendant fires and floods, the need for solar energy is immense — vital if the world is to quit burning fossil fuels, the primary cause of the climate crisis…
The trick, for those of us in the business of land conservation, is to make a contribution to that effort without compromising our missions of protecting biodiversity and working lands that produce the food we need. There’s a growing body of research and practical application that offers hope that this can happen using agrivoltaics, the practice of combining agriculture and solar energy collection — a dual use of the land…
Protect your woodlands
“Over 75% of Vermont’s land is forested, and much of that land is privately owned, often by families and individuals. Conserving these forests matters a great deal for our climate, our economy, and our communities. If you own woodland and want it to remain forested, conservation is one option you could consider. We can help you explore your options and guide you through the process…”
River conservation corridor
The East Branch of the Little Calumet River Conservation Corridor Project has helped to accelerate the preservation, restoration, and water quality improvement efforts within an ecologically significant riparian area. Project goals have included land acquisition, prioritization of acquisitions, collaborative land management planning, ecological restoration, identification of green infrastructure opportunities, and evaluation of policy mechanisms and barriers…
$500 grant: From classrooms to communities
The Climate Initiative is offering $500 to the first 10 land trusts interested in holding community climate change conversations.
They believe youth can — and do — lead, and have developed and tested the curriculum. Check out the videos, articles, and resources — and email Leia if you’d like to learn more or host a program. This could be a great way to partner with area schools, teachers, and your community.
You can find out the details on the website and email Leia Lowery.
Climate Change Pilot Project
South Kingstown Land Trust was invited by the University of Rhode Island’s Coastal Resource Center (CRC) to participate in a pilot project to investigate how climate change could impact land trusts — whether impacts to our land holdings themselves or to our priorities for preservation.
For Rhode Island, the likely effects of climate change will include sea-level rise and increases in air and water temperature, precipitation, and storminess. The study was funded by the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council…