Sand County Foundation
Sand County Foundation is a non-profit private land conservation organization located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1965, its work is inspired by world-renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold’s land ethic.
Mission
To advance the use of ethical and scientifically sound land management practices and partnerships for the benefit of people and their rural landscapes.[1]
Programs
Leopold Conservation Award
The Leopold Conservation Award is presented in ten states (California,[2] Colorado,[3] Kansas,[4] Kentucky,[5] Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas,[6] Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming[7]) to private landowners who practice responsible land stewardship and management.
Agricultural Incentives
The Agricultural Incentives Program is composed of various projects throughout the midwest focused on reducing nutrient runoff associated with agriculture. The program emphasizes watershed-scale projects and works with the agricultural community on research based solutions to address nutrient runoff.
Water As A Crop
The Water As A Crop initiative works with private landowners on issues related to water conservation and agricultural land management. The program works with individuals and groups that have an interest in creating financial incentives for landowners who manage their land in a way that conserves water. The idea is that such incentives will help offset the costs associated with implementing conservation practices and encourage other landowners to pursue similar measures.
Mission Wildlife
Mission:Wildlife is a project sponsored by Sand County Foundation. The goal of the project is to create and implement innovative ideas to help make policies related to endangered species more effective. In conjunction with increasing policy effectiveness, Mission:Wildlife seeks to restore wildlife communities in a way that will reduce community costs and increase predictability for business.
Previous Projects
Examples of projects the Foundation has undertaken:
- The Coastal Louisiana Restoration received the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Gulf Guardian Award in the Civic/Non-profit category.[8]
- Beginning in 1999, Sand County Foundation became involved in the restoration of Wisconsin's Baraboo River. The restoration project removed dams to restore the flow of the river.[9][10]
- The Cooperative Sagebrush Initiative began in 2006 and concluded in 2013.[11] The project is the only rage-wide attempt to unite western land users to conserve and restore the sagebrush ecosystem across portions of 11 western states.
References
- ↑ http://sandcounty.net/about-us/
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ San Isabel Ranch honored for conservation efforts
- ↑
- ↑ Rancher says conservation efforts make most of rainfall
- ↑ Leopold Conservation Award presented to Golden Willow Ranch
- ↑ U.S. EPA press release, regarding Sand County Foundation receiving the Gulf Guardian Award
- ↑ Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton speaks of the Baraboo River restoration at the Wayback Machine (archived October 25, 2007)
- ↑ After 150 years, dams no longer interrupt Baraboo River
- ↑ http://sandcounty.net/other-projects/cooperative-sagebrush-initiative/. Missing or empty
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