Erik Glenn – Saving Colorado, One Ranch at a Time

Erik Glenn is the Executive Director of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust, a land conservation organization that has protected over 465,000 acres of working ranches throughout the state of Colorado. In this episode, Ed and Erik discuss a wide array of topics including the importance of keeping ranches in agricultural production, the basics of land conservation in the West, Colorado’s role as a leader in national land conservation, Erik’s family history as ranchers, and much more.

Erik Glenn (far right) with two Colorado ranchers.

Erik was the perfect first guest for the podcast, so I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did!


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Episode Notes

Topics Covered

5:06 – How Erik describes his work
6:11 – History of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT)
8:45 – What “land conservation” means to Erik
11:20 – Details on how CCALT conserves ranches, basics of conservation easements
14:40 – The effects of ranch subdivision
17:15 – Why a vegan living in LoDo should care about working ranches
22:30 – The importance of grazing for a healthy ecosystem
26:40 – Colorado’s role as a leader in conservation
29:45 – Erik’s family history in agriculture
33:00 – Why Erik chose conservation as a career
36:15 – Advice to young people who want to work in conservation
43:20 – Importance of financial sustainability for land trusts
49:30 – One thing that Erik would change about conservation
53:30 – Erik’s favorite books
55:20 – Erik’s favorite documentaries
57:30 – Erik’s favorite place in the West
59:10 – Erik’s recommendations for people visiting the West
1:00:30 – Erik’s request of the listeners

 

Information Referenced