Trust Our Land: A turning point for EVLT

By Jessica Foulis

The Eagle Valley Land Trust transformed on December 16th. That’s because on this day, our growing team of conservation professionals moved from our tiny office, which was bursting at the seams, to our forever home: EVLT’s new Conservation Center in Edwards.

This gigantic step for our small organization didn’t happen by accident, nor did it happen overnight. It’s taken years and hundreds of helping hands. As I write this, RA Nelson and our community’s building professionals are bustling throughout the building, putting on the finishing touches and double checking that everything is ready to move our mission forward.  

The Conservation Center is an amalgamation of old and new, artistically blended by the architects at Zehren and Associates. It combines logs from the 1700s with a Tennessee barn built in the 1890s, the iconic Wildflower Farm that operated the building for the last two decades, and many modern touches. The result is a building that’s not only a work of art, but a blank slate for a new generation of conservation action. This blending of old and new is a physical manifestation of EVLT’s mission and culture, honoring and protecting the lands we love and ensuring a legacy for our future. 

Watching elk from our new office windows is a constant reminder of how critical our conservation work is. These elk aren’t just wandering around town; they’re hunkering down for the winter in the adjacent Eagle River Preserve Open Space, which is permanently protected by EVLT. This means that the 72-acre parcel next door to us will be here for our beloved elk every year, forever.

Doubling Conservation

As if it were perfectly orchestrated, moving into this incredible building lines up with our ambitious new goal of doubling conservation over the next 10 years. 

A 2023 poll by Keep It Colorado found that over 80% of Coloradans feel that more needs to be done to protect open spaces and natural resources. On top of that, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, our local elk herds are struggling to survive as our community grows. 

Our 10-year goal is a simple one, but it requires a multifaceted approach. To double conservation, we need to double three things: engagement, resources, and strategies.

Doubling engagement means connecting more community members with protected land and the conservation process. We’ll increase the number of outreach programs, facilitate more diverse program offerings, expand conservation visibility, and continue to break down barriers to accessing nature. Increasing landowner engagement is also critical, since good conservation is done in partnership with willing landowners who care about the future of their land.

Doubling resources means bringing more dollars to conservation. With more funding, we can increase the number of resources available to landowners interested in conservation, fund more conservation transactions, and support our land trust’s operations.

Doubling strategies means creating and implementing new conservation tools like critical habitat linkages, collaborative water solutions, innovative financing strategies, and resilient agriculture. While conservation easements are a phenomenal tool, they don’t fit every situation. There are more strategies we can deploy to protect our lands, rivers, ecosystems, and open spaces.

Conservation takes commitment. It takes funding. It takes a community. Doubling conservation in 10 years is a massive undertaking that will require greater financial resources. I believe this community is ready for the challenge. 

Thank You

When I see elk in the open spaces our community has permanently protected for them, I feel overwhelming gratitude to everyone who has supported EVLT and our work for the last 43 years. It’s taken an enormous number of partners, resources, donors, staff hours, and community advocates to make this work happen. But every single protected acre is worth it.

As we close out the year, I want to express my gratitude for everyone who has gotten us to where we are today. Your support has helped us protect 14,000 acres and provided us with the momentum to double local conservation.

First, I want to thank the EVLT team. Our board and staff work tirelessly to make local conservation possible. From monitoring our conservation easements and designing our new home, to launching innovative programs that engage and inspire our community, this team makes it happen.

I also want to thank landowners who make conservation a priority. This includes individuals and families who have conserved their lands, as well as Eagle County and the towns of Gypsum, Eagle, Avon, Minturn, and Vail. This work is only possible because of willing landowners who see and feel the benefits that protected land has for the greater community.

I am grateful for EVLT’s steadfast donors who provide the fuel that drives our work forward. Some of you have donated annually for decades. Others made their first gift this year, and we are so happy you have joined our team. Big or small, every single donation makes a difference.

Lastly, thanks to all our partners, including Exploremos for their work addressing barriers to accessing nature, and the Eagle County Community Wildlife Roundtable, our local Colorado Outdoor Regional Partnership, for their collaborative conservation work. Partnerships help our small teams have an outsized impact. 

As open spaces in our community become fewer and farther between, protected land becomes even more valuable, and protecting more land grows increasingly critical. As we chip away at a pipeline of exciting projects focused on protecting the scenic open spaces, critical wildlife migration corridors, and recreational opportunities that support our mental and physical well-being, we’re grateful to this community for its ongoing support. 

It’s because of you that we’re ready to take on this goal to double conservation in the next 10 years. Thank you for joining us on this journey to protect our community’s most important lands. Forever. For all. 

Jessica Foulis is the Eagle Valley Land Trust’s Executive Director. You can contact her at Jessicafoulis@evlt.org. To learn more about EVLT’s land conservation work, partnerships, and to donate, visit their new website at www.evlt.org.