What Is a Conservation Easement, and Why Does It Matter?

Ever wonder why there are miles of open farmland, wildlife corridors, and protected views along your commute through Boulder County? Those scenic stretches may not be an accident—they might be conservation easements.

Join hosts Liz Northrup, Conservation Easement Program Supervisor, and Tim Carden, Conservation Easement Stewardship Specialist, for a deep dive into one of Boulder County’s most powerful land conservation tools: the conservation easement.

This episode reveals the unseen side of open space—40,000 acres of private land protected in perpetuity through voluntary agreements between landowners and Boulder County. With over 850 easements to manage, stewardship is no small task.

Highlights Include:

• What a conservation easement actually is, and how it works
• The surprising benefits to landowners, from tax benefits to legacy preservation
• Behind-the-scenes stewardship: wildlife encounters, weed control, and trust-building
• Stories from the field, including moose sightings, regenerative farming with pigs, and meaningful landowner collaborations
• A heartfelt interview with Keith Owen, a conservation award-winning landowner, on his 25-year journey of transforming a tree nursery into thriving native grasslands

From the agricultural plains to the forested peaks of Eldora, this episode is a testament to the people and policies that make Boulder County’s landscapes so vibrant and enduring.

• The Conservation Easement Program website
• Our handout, "What is a conservation easement?"
• The Boulder County Comprehensive Plan
• The Land Trust Alliance website. The Land Trust Alliance is a national organization supporting conservation easements throughout the country, and they list other conservation easement holders if a listener is joining us from outside of Colorado and wants to find their local land trust.
• The Keep It Colorado website. Keep It Colorado is another organization that supports conservation easements, specifically in Colorado. They also list conservation easement holders in Colorado, in case a listener joining us from outside Boulder County, but within Colorado, wants to find their local land trust.

🎧 Subscribe to Voices of Open Space on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen and join us in protecting what makes Boulder County wild, rooted, and resilient.

Original music, including the theme song and all transitional pieces, was composed and performed by Tim Ostdiek.