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https://reasonstobecheerful.world/grasslands-conservation-easements-ranchers-oregon/>
"A few years ago, Dan Probert was managing a ranch in southeast Oregon when he
learned that the 12,000-acre Lightning Creek Ranch on the nearby Zumwalt
Prairie was for sale. After over two decades of managing other people’s
ranches, he realized that this was a chance to fulfill a his long-time dream of
setting up on his own.
The problem was the cost: a cool $2.6 million.
So Probert started digging around for a financing solution. In his effort, he
learned that The Nature Conservancy (TNC), a conservation nonprofit, already
owned and managed a parcel in the prairie, and was looking to buy more.
Probert reached out, discussions came together and, within a few months, they
struck a deal in which TNC, with the help of funding provided by the USDA
Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Climate Trust and the Doris Duke
Charitable Foundation, made a payment to Probert allowing him to buy the ranch.
In exchange, he agreed not to till or develop the property in perpetuity, while
retaining the right to use the land to raise livestock.
“The financial aspect was appealing, but what we liked the most was that
[Lightning Creek] was going to remain a working ranch while also protecting the
land for the following generation,” says Probert, 58, who runs the operation
along with his wife Suzy.
The contract, called a conservation easement, is a legal agreement that allows
landowners to donate or sell the right to develop their land to a nonprofit or
government agency, which manages the land for conservation. Under these
programs, landowners retain ownership of the land and can continue to use it
for activities such as farming, forestry and hunting. Such easements have
become increasingly popular as a way to conserve and restore the country’s
prairies — or what’s left of them."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
