Keep It Colorado will present a panel, “The Nature of Community-centered Conservation,” at the 2024 Partners in the Outdoors Conference in Breckenridge on April 18 from 8:45 – 10:00am. We’ll host the panel alongside our partners at Land Trust Alliance, Eagle Valley Land Trust and Montezuma Land Conservancy, and their guest panelists Edgar Tellez Soto from Walking Mountains Science Center and Treston Chee from Trees, Water & People. Speakers will highlight the initiatives of land trusts and their partners to engage more people in conservation, and why that's important to Colorado's future.

Conservation Center: Jessica Foulis from Eagle Valley Land Trust will talk about the land trust’s role in the community and in the Eagle Valley Outdoor Movement, what they heard from their local community, and how a new Conservation Center will meet community needs and support community-centered conservation. Edgar Tellez Soto of Walking Mountains Science Center will address the Eagle Valley Outdoor Movement’s approach to authentic engagement and community-centered conservation, as well as program impacts.

Traditional Harvest: Molly Mazel of Montezuma Land Conservancy will share an overview of the Traditional Harvest project, intended to provide land access to Ute Mountain Ute tribal members. Treston Chee of Trees, Water & People will highlight the power of storytelling, what he’s hearing from the community through his storytelling work, what this work means for the Tribe, and respecting tradition - while emphasizing the importance of non-extractive storytelling and narrative sovereignty.

Photo: Walking Mountains Science Center/Eagle Valley Outdoor Movement