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Farm And Clouds
Mississippi Valley Conservancy

Mississippi Valley Conservancy: Climate change

There are land trusts like the Mississippi Valley Conservancy that are working to share stories of how solar can become farmer-first, rather than a detriment to farming.

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.

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Corn Field
USDA

Learn more about Conservation Innovation Grants

Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) is a competitive program that supports the development of new tools, approaches, practices, and technologies to further natural resource conservation on private lands.

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…

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Cows
Judy Anderson

Healthy soil grants

Funding is increasingly available to improve farming practices, sometimes called regenerative agriculture, to help slow down climate change and improve water quality, soil health, and clean air.

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

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Peat Bog
GRLT

Rockland’s biggest, oldest ecological secret

Check out this slide show Georges River Land Trust used to communicate about the importance of peat bogs. It's very effective as a communication tool; you learn a lot even just by skimming. Perhaps you can use something like this to communicate about an important natural resource in your area...

What’s a peat bog? Where’s the Rockland Bog? What’s special about it? Why conserve it? How can you make a difference?

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Climate Action Plan

Mississippi Valley Conservancy: Climate Action Plan

"Together, we can address one of the greatest challenges our region has ever faced..."

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.

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Solar Sunflower
AgriSolar Clearinghouse

Solar energy and its place on the land

The Mississippi Valley Conservancy works in Wisconsin where they conserve a wide range of landscapes. The organization developed a Climate Action Plan and is working to help the community understand how local action can inspire big impacts.

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…

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Canopy
Judy Anderson

Protect your woodlands

Woodland conservation can be part of the climate solution. Yet how do you talk to landowners about it? Vermont Land Trust does a nice job.

“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…”

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Ducks
iStock

River conservation corridor

This might be a good project to share with donors, community members, and regional leaders to see how it could be replicated in your area.

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…

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Land Trust Community Conversations

$500 grant: From classrooms to communities

Leia Lowery, Director of Programs and Outreach for the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust and the Climate Initiative, has alerted me to opportunities for land trusts to tap into their climate curriculum and partner with their 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.

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Monarch
iStock

Climate Change Pilot Project

We can make sure that solar developments are installed and managed to benefit farm and ranch viability, soil health, wildlife habitat, and water management.

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…

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