$1,000,000 Grant Bolsters Important Local Food and Water Efforts

With the growing season upon us, Palmer Land Trusts Bessemer Farmland Conservation Project continues to build impressive momentum. This ambitious, multi-year initiative supports eastern Pueblo County’s agricultural communities through the conservation of a critical mass of irrigated farmland. By keeping such a large swath of Colorado’s most fertile farmland in production, Palmer Land Trust will ensure that an important source of healthy, local food and Pueblo’s agricultural heritage will remain vibrant for generations to come.

Palmer recently secured a multi-year $1,000,000 grant that allows us to significantly bolster our efforts along the Bessemer. This strong showing of support from a highly engaged private donor gives us the resources to navigate the next three years, a critical time period that will likely determine the overall success of the entire project. Our ongoing efforts around community building, public engagement, technical analysis, and complex water law will expand dramatically, culminating with a market-based framework that will keep the most productive irrigated farmland in production, forever. A win-win-win-win for the community, local economy, natural resources, and YOU.

In the end, Palmer’s forward-thinking and innovative conservation efforts, coupled with its committed partners, will not only benefit the citizens of Pueblo County. as well as the entire Arkansas River Basin, but will provide a model that conservation groups throughout the state and country can utilize for the benefit of their own communities.