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 of $10,000 and a crystal award recognizes private landowners who practice responsible land stewardship and management.[2] Started in 2003, this program has expanded to include at least thirteen states[2] including California,[3] Colorado,[4] Kansas,[5] Kentucky,[6] Missouri,[7] Nebraska,[8] North Dakota,[9] Oklahoma,[10] South Dakota,[11] Texas,[12] Utah,[13] Wisconsin,[14] and Wyoming[15]
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.
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.[16]
- 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.[17][18]
- The Cooperative Sagebrush Initiative began in 2006 and concluded in 2013.[19] The project is the only range-wide attempt to unite western land users to conserve and restore the sagebrush ecosystem across portions of 11 western states.
References
- Foundation, Sand County (2019-03-31). "About". Sand County Foundation. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
- "Leopold Conservation Award Program". Retrieved March 31, 2019.
- "Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company Named California Leopold Conservation Award Recipient". AgWeb - The Home Page of Agriculture. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
- "2018 Colorado Leopold Conservation Award® Recipient Announced : The Prowers Journal". Retrieved 2019-03-31.
- San Isabel Ranch honored for conservation efforts Archived 2007-07-04 at the Wayback Machine
- "Nominations are open for a farmer or forester for the 2019 Kentucky Leopold Conservation Award | NKyTribune". Retrieved 2019-03-31.
- "Scherder Farms receives Missouri Leopold Conservation Award". AgUpdate. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
- "Gov. Ricketts Announces 2018 Nebraska Leopold Conservation Award Recipient | Office of Governor Pete Ricketts". governor.nebraska.gov. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
- Service, Jenny Schlecht, Forum News (2018-11-20). "J.S. Wilson Farm wins 2018 Leopold Conservation Award for ND". www.jamestownsun.com. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
- "Oklahoma Leopold Conservation Award seeks nominees". The Shawnee News-Star. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
- "Leopold Conservation Award". South Dakota Grassland Coalition. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
- "TPWD: News Release: May 18, 2018: Laborcitas Creek Ranch Receives 2018 Leopold Conservation Award® for Texas". tpwd.texas.gov. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
- Brough, Rick. "Ercanbrack Family Honored With Conservation Award". www.kpcw.org. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
- "Green Lake County Farmers Receive Leopold Conservation Award". Farm Progress. 2012-11-19. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
- "Wyo. Governor recognizes Leopold Conservation Award recipient". www.thefencepost.com. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
- 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". Archived from the original on October 25, 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-04.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
- After 150 years, dams no longer interrupt Baraboo River
- Sand County Foundation (2019-04-17). "Cooperative Sagebrush Initiative". Sand County Foundation. Retrieved 2019-04-18.