Guest Commentary: 2010 was a good year for conservation

The U.S. Census recently ranked Colorado as theninth-fastest-growing state in the nation over the past decade. Despite thatgrowth, we have managed to retain a wealth of open space on our working privatelands in Colorado. Much of the credit for that success goes to Great OutdoorsColorado (GOCO), established in 1992 by the people of Colorado to preserve,protect, enhance and manage the state's wildlife, park, river, trail and openspace heritage. GOCO fosters a spirit of collaboration between privatelandowners, land trusts, and local and state governments that yields greatresults for land conservation.

To date, nearly 2 million acres have been protected in Coloradothrough voluntary conservation easements to the benefit of wildlife,recreationists, ranchers and our economy. Each of these acres representsrelationship-building between many different parties. For example, protectionof the more than 20,000-acre Jumping Cow ranch in rapidly growing Elbert Countyresulted from a partnership between the landowner, The Nature Conservancy, theDivision of Wildlife and GOCO.

Colorado's Renewable Energy Standard — which requires 30percent of the state's electricity to be generated from renewable sources by2020 — will bring jobs and economic benefits to Colorado. As the state's windenergy potential is developed, it will also alter the native prairie of theEastern Plains. These potential impacts are being carefully considered by theColorado Renewables and Conservation Collaborative (CRCC), a coalition of windenergy interests and conservation groups.

Working in concert with the Colorado Public UtilitiesCommission, Xcel Energy and the Colorado Division of Wildlife, CRCC created avoluntary best management practice (BMP) framework to avoid, minimize andmitigate the effects of wind energy development on eastern Colorado's nativeplants and wildlife. Engaging both business and conservation interests ensuredthat the BMPs are business viable and conservation credible.

The challenge of restoring Colorado's forests to a healthycondition that sustains natural values and reduces the threat of wildfire tohomes and infrastructure is one that demands effective collaboration betweenmany parties. This summer's Fourmile Canyon fire near Boulder was a starkreminder of the risks posed by unhealthy forest conditions. Fortunately,Colorado is a national model for partnership approaches to long-term forestrestoration.

In 2010, the U.S. Forest Service awarded special grants to10 forest areas around the country where joint efforts show the greatestpromise for improving forest conditions at a large scale. Colorado was the onlystate to receive two of these grants, one benefiting the Uncompahgre Plateau inwestern Colorado and one covering Front Range forests stretching from El Pasoto Larimer counties.

The Front Range restoration effort is an initiative of theFront Range Roundtable, a coalition of more than 50 diverse organizationsworking together to restore 1.5 million acres of forest that are in urgent needof management to protect nearby communities and restore ecological health.Because the threats to our state's forests stretch across county lines andother political barriers, collaboration is proving to be paramount inaddressing their problems. Policy roundtables, cooperative grants, and sharedlearning networks that are connecting scientists and forest managers havecatalyzed a substantial effort to ensure costly catastrophic fires are lessprevalent.

There will always be a wide range of viewpoints about how toaddress challenges to our natural landscapes and advance conservation in ourstate. The successes of 2010 built upon our state's history of findingcollaborative and practical solutions. I am optimistic that we will see much ofthe same in 2011. This is good news for Colorado.