At the end of January, my Fellowship with the Colorado Conservation Trust (“CCT”) came to an end. CCT’s Future Conservation Leaders Fellowship places young conservation professionals with qualified conservation organizations and funds their work for two years. The benefits are enormous. The Colorado Water Trust and other small non-profits can expand their workforce for a fraction of the cost, while young resource managers and attorneys like me get their foot in the door with great conservation organizations.
Beyond my work for CWT, CCT funded my trips to Hartford, Conn. for the Land Trust Alliance’s annual Rally, the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts’ Conservation Excellence Conference, and the Colorado Water Workshop in Gunnison. Moreover, CCT encouraged and funded meeting with my co-Fellows (posted at Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust, Palmer Land Trust, and Middle Park Land Trust among others) to share ideas.
All this contact with the land trust community has been particularly beneficial for CWT’s Technical Assistance Program. The connections I’ve made thanks to CCT’s generosity has helped grow our outreach to land trusts encountering issues with encumbered water rights. We can speak their language and address their needs more thoughtfully.
So, thank you CCT! CWT and I are extremely grateful.
—Zach Smith