RIDGWAY – The Northern San Juans Initiative, Black Canyon Land Trust and the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust will present an interactive workshop of seminars for landowners, professionals and the community to learn about land preservation and conservation easements on May 6 at the Ouray County 4-H Events Center, 22739 Hwy 550 in Ridgway, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Conservation easements provide a unique way to preserve working farms and ranches, wildlife habitat, and scenic open space. This approach retains land in private ownership while limiting development, providing benefits to both the landowner and community.

The Ridgway Land Conservation Workshop will be followed by a breakfast, presentation and question and answer session on May 7 at 8 a.m. in the Norwood Community Center.

The workshop, titled “Protecting Open Space by Preserving Working Lands,” is free to attend, but pre-registration is requested. Lunch is included in registration and provided by CCALT and EnCana Gas. This workshop will provide specific information useful for landowners who are planning for the future of their property. Professionals are also welcome, including real estate professionals, attorneys, tax and estate planners, appraisers, land use planners, and local government professionals.

Seminars will include: Conservation Easements – An Introduction; Tax Benefits for Conservation Easements; Conservation Easements in your Estate Plan; Conservation Easement Appraisals; Conservation Easements in the Real Estate Market; Experiences of the San Miguel County Open Space Program; and a joint panel discussion with conservation professionals. Presentations will incorporate both local information and knowledge of state-level professionals.

Continuing education credits may be offered for several of these seminars.

For more information or to pre-register for the workshop, contact Robin at Black Canyon Land Trust at 970/252-1481, or by email at robin@blackcanyonlandtrust.org. You may also contact Alyssa at Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust at 303/225-8677, or by email at aschneider@ccalt.org.

For more information or to RSVP for the Norwood breakfast presentation on May 7, please contact Alyssa at 303/225-8677, aschneider@ccalt.org or Linda at 970/369-5469 or by email at lindal@sanmiguelcounty.org.