Landlines by Colorado Open Lands

In this episode, Landlines spoke to Larry Vickerman and Ben Lenth. Larry, now a Colorado Open Lands (COL) board member, was the chairman of the board of the San Isabel Land Protection Trust at the time of its 2021 merger with COL. Senior Project Manager Ben Lenth, who previously served as executive director of San Isabel, managed the merger from the COL side. Larry and Ben talked to Landlines about what made San Isabel so special, what made a merger desirable, and what conservation and stewardship are like in the region, post-merger.

In this episode, Landlines visited the women-owned and operated Redwing Ranch in Gardner, Colorado. Owner Christy Wyckoff and ranch manager Fiona Jackson discussed Redwing's mission, the historic and current roles of women in ranching, and the magic that can happen when you give people space to learn and share with one another.

In this episode, Landlines travels to Pueblo, Colorado to the home of Dr. Henry Pollock and Dr. Judith Westveer, the executive and associate directors of Southern Plains Land Trust.Southern Plains Land Trust (SPLT), which you’ll hear abbreviated as "split," has a mission to protect shortgrass prairie. SPLT owns and manages land in Bent, Baca, and Prowers counties in southeastern Colorado. They partner with Colorado Open Lands to permanently protect their land holdings through conservation easements currently totaling over 50,000 acres.We discussed how our partnership works, what’s special about the shortgrass prairie, the history of Colorado’s plains, and what secrets they reveal when one takes the time to observe them.

In this episode, Landlines talks to members of Riparian Reconnect, a partnership dedicated to restoring Colorado riverscapes. The conversation includes Jessica Doran of EcoWorks, Mark Beardsley of EcoMetrics, and Colorado Open Lands Restoration Program Manager Dirk Rasmussen. The three partners, along with host Leslie Volkar, discuss the need for restoration work on Colorado waterways, how it gets done, and why it's so important.

In this episode, Landlines talks to Colorado Open Lands Community Outreach and Education Manager Yvonne Schramm. Yvonne shares why it's so important to connect new communities with conservation. She also details COL's suite of programs that connect Coloradans of all ages and levels of experience with the outdoors.

In this episode, Landlines travels to Loveland, Colorado to visit Todd Olander of Olander Farms and Root Shoot Malting. Todd and his family protected their farm with a conservation easement in 2022.We’re also joined by Colorado Open Lands Senior Conservation Project Manager Carmen Farmer, who has been our resident expert on Northern Colorado land and water conservation since 2016.Todd and Carmen discuss the challenges for young farmers, regenerative practices on Olander Farms, and how to balance the need for growth with the need for a sustainable agricultural industry in Northern Colorado.

In this episode, Landlines travels to Alamosa to speak with COL Conservation Project Manager Sally Wier and Land and Water Steward Seth Armentrout. These two staff members live and work in Colorado's San Luis Valley, and they share with us their experience with the local conservation values, partnerships, wildlife, and of course, the people that make this region so special.

Landlines takes a deeper look at how land and water conservation gets done in Colorado. Host Leslie Volkar talks with expert staff, partners, and community members about In our first episode, Leslie talks to Tony Caligiuri, Colorado Open Lands' President and CEO, about the value of protecting private land. The discussion covers what happens on private land (and what doesn't), incentives and tools for conservation, and some of our favorite memories on private, protected land.Colorado Open Lands is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that protects land and water for people and wildlife. See more at coloradoopenlands.orgFollow Colorado Open Lands on Instagram at @coloradoopenlands or on Facebook at facebook.com/coloradoopenlands