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Shortgrass Prairie Initiative, Colorado

Earlier this year, The Nature Conservancy and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) completed the first of three voluntary land preservation agreements designed to protect tens of thousands of acres of Colorado’s shortgrass prairie. The agreement is part of the Shortgrass Prairie Initiative, a joint effort to offset habitat loss caused by future transportation improvements while safeguarding large blocks of shortgrass prairie, home to a number of imperiled species.

“This initiative emerged from a shared vision that public transportation agencies can more effectively use environmental mitigation dollars to recover declining ecosystems,” said Charles Bedford, director of the Nature Conservancy of Colorado. “CDOT is directing funding now to recover and preserve critical habitat outside of the state’s major transportation corridors and in return will be able to conduct more efficient and less expensive transportation improvements over the next 20 years."

The first voluntary land preservation agreement protects approximately 2,400 acres west of Grover and adjacent to the Pawnee National Grasslands. Under the terms of the agreement the Conservancy will work with landowners to ensure the preservation of the prairie and the continuance of traditional uses of the land.

Protection of the shortgrass prairie will help protect certain species of wildlife determined to be “at risk” of extinction by the U.S. fish and Wildlife Service as well as other species including the mountain plover, burrowing owl, swift fox, ferruginous hawk and McCown’s Longspur.

CDOT saw an opportunity to protect tens of thousands of acres of shortgrass prairie and reduce compliance costs by planning ahead.

“I see this partnership as one of our best opportunities to work in collaboration with local ranching families and public agencies to take a proactive approach to conserving Colorado’s important grasslands for future generations,” said Greg Gamble, Eastern Colorado program director for the Conservancy.

Grasslands are considered to be one of the most imperiled habitat types in North America and worldwide. Only about 40 percent of Colorado’s short grass prairie still remains and much of it has been degraded due to fragmentation. Grassland birds that inhabit the prairie have shown steeper, more consistent decline than any other group of vertebrate animals in North America.

For More Information:

• Where We Work: The Nature Conservancy in Colorado
  Working with partners and local communities, The Nature Conservancy has protected more than 600,000 acres of critical natural area in Colorado.
• How We Work: Shortgrass Prairie Initiative
  The Shortgrass Prairie Initiative is a joint effort to offset habitat loss caused by future road widening and maintenance activity while safeguarding large blocks of shortgrass prairie, home to a number of "at risk" species.
• Press Release: The Nature Conservancy and Colorado Department of Transportation Preserve Imperiled Prairie and "At Risk" Species
  The Nature Conservancy and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) completed the first of three voluntary land preservation agreements designed to protect tens of thousands of acres of Colorado’s shortgrass prairie.
• Our Partner: Colorado Department of Transportation
  The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is responsible for a 9,142 mile highway system, including 3,703 bridges, which handles over 26.1 billion vehicle miles of travel each year.
• Archive of our Saves of the Week and Success Stories
  Read more about The Nature Conservancy's work to save the last great places on Earth.