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GOLDEN, Colorado – Nov. 30, 2023 – In a new partnership, Ducks Unlimited (DU) has pledged a commitment of up to $50,000 to Keep It Colorado to support its grant program, the Transaction Cost Assistance Program (TCAP). TCAP provides financial support to Colorado's land conservation community to help cover costs associated with conservation easement transactions, which protect land in perpetuity. Specifically, Keep It Colorado will apply DU's investment toward conservation projects that involve Colorado wetlands and benefit migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, and other wildlife and natural resources.
 
Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) co-developed TCAP with Keep It Colorado in 2021, and has since primarily funded the program, along with additional support from the Gates Family Foundation and private donors. DU's gift further expands the pool of financial resources available for TCAP and, in turn, helps landowners interested in conservation.
 
"We were thrilled when Ducks Unlimited approached us with their wish to support this program and advance a common vision to protect Colorado's wetlands," said Amy Beatie, executive director of Keep It Colorado. "We know this will be a popular option for land trusts applying for a grant, as many project applications we've seen over the years include a wetlands component. We thank DU for leaning in to support this important conservation funding effort."
 
DU's gift to TCAP will enable one to two wetlands-related conservation projects to come to fruition. TCAP offers grants at up to a maximum of $50,000 each, which have the potential to conserve hundreds, if not thousands, of acres across Colorado.
 
"DU, via our land trust Wetlands America Trust, Inc., is a long-time member of Keep It Colorado, and we are proud to further support the TCAP program that has been instrumental in protecting habitat throughout Colorado," said John Denton, DU’s Colorado manager of conservation programs. "This highly collaborative and well-organized granting program will allow DU to expand wetland conservation assistance in Colorado far more effectively than we could on our own."
 
Since 2021, Keep It Colorado has awarded $928,915 in TCAP grant assistance to Colorado land trusts. This aid will enable land trusts to help landowners complete 23 conservation projects on 27,487 acres of land by June 30, 2025, and leverage $23.6 million in state tax credits. Demand for transaction cost assistance continues to increase as more landowners are motivated to conserve land, and the number of applications received far outweighs available funds. In total, the cumulative funding requests Keep It Colorado has received since 2021 reached $2,020,592 as of the summer of 2023.
 
Continuing this program, and increasing the amount of funding available through partners like GOCO and DU will be central to helping Keep It Colorado and its coalition members advance goals of Conserving Colorado: A 10-year Roadmap for the Future of Private Land Conservation over the next decade – including the community's collective goals to conserve 3.3 million acres by 2033.

Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving North America's continually disappearing wetlands, grasslands and other waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has restored or protected more than 16 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science, DU's projects benefit waterfowl, wildlife and people in all 50 states. DU is growing its mission through a historic $3 billion Conservation For A Continent capital campaign. Learn more at www.ducks.org.
 
About Keep It Colorado
Keep It Colorado serves as a unified voice for conservation organizations focused on private lands conservation, and does so by bringing together land trusts, public agencies and conservation champions around a vision to create a Colorado where people, lands, waters and wildlife thrive. Keep It Colorado advocates for sound public policy; provides connection and collaboration opportunities for conservation partners; offers a forum to address emerging conservation issues and opportunities; pursues sustainable funding and programmatic tools and solutions; and works to advance a culture of conservation in Colorado. Learn more at www.keepitco.org.

 

Media Contacts:
Ben Romans
Ducks Unlimited Great Plains Region
(208) 761-7775
bromans@ducks.org
 
Linda Lidov
Keep It Colorado
(303) 358-6279
linda@keepitco.org