2021 was a packed and productive year - and we're pleased to share details of what Keep It Colorado accomplished on behalf of and in collaboration with our members, our partners and our board members, as well as the conservation movement in Colorado.

We invite you to review our freshly published Coalition at a Glance 2021.

For a glimpse at what’s inside, please read the letter from Melissa Daruna, Keep It Colorado’s executive director:

Dear friends and partners in conservation,

2021 was another year of big change in the private lands conservation sector—and fortunately, the changes have been encouraging, empowering and everlasting. One thing has remained constant, however, and that's the fierce dedication with which this community works to protect Colorado and its future. I'm proud of the role Keep It Colorado has played in advancing conservation for our state, and am eager to share highlights of our coalition's progress and achievements in this report.

First, 2021 was a banner year in terms of our legislative and policy work with the successful passage of our bill, HB21-1233. The new law creates greater incentives for landowners who voluntarily choose to conserve their property and opens the door to water entities to be eligible for the state tax credit, among other opportunities to advance the pace and scale of conservation in Colorado.

We made significant headway on our Statewide Private Lands Conservation Plan with the formation of an advisory council, a series of statewide listening tours and a roadmap for the next 18 months. We also advanced our pilot program for alternative valuation. Both of these programs will continue to be key priorities for Keep It Colorado in 2022.

This year saw the addition of a pilot program that offers regrant funds to our members. The funds enable our land trusts to advance critical conservation projects and help streamline funding models; our plan is to grow this successful program into even broader opportunities that create financial sustainability for the private lands conservation sector.

We were pleased to hire a new team member in September—Raina Roanhorse joined as our grant programs and administrative coordinator, growing our team to 2.5 staff. We continued to provide resources and tools to help our members tell the story of private lands conservation and its benefits for Colorado. And for the first time since 2019, we held our summer regional meetings in-person!

This year we also took a more deliberate approach to initiating conversations about climate change, understanding that conservation is climate action. While the private lands community has been addressing issues of drought, water loss and the impacts of population growth for decades, through more concerted efforts we can make even deeper inroads to address climate change together. Finally, recognizing that there are many under-represented voices in strategic conversations about conservation in Colorado, we took action toward creating a more equitable, diverse and inclusive conservation community.

Our work around climate and JEDI will be ongoing and we're excited to move these conversations forward in 2022 and beyond.

I invite you to read details about our work in 2021 in this report, and to reach out to me any time for a virtual or in-person conversation. Thank you for support and for what you do to "keep it Colorado."

-- Melissa Daruna, Executive Director