Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): The Nature Conservancy

With the launching of a new market, he’s a vanguard of grouse conservation in Wyoming

Eric Peterson

Eric Peterson has been hired to fill a new position as pilot administrator of the Wyoming Conservation Exchange.

A landowner-led conservation effort in Wyoming has sparked a new market and has now created a new job.

The University of Wyoming recently announced the hiring of a new pilot administrator of the Wyoming Conservation Exchange, a voluntary, market-based program that seeks to enroll local landowners in landscape-scale conservation of greater sage-grouse, mule deer and hydrologic services.

Eric was formerly manager of the Sublette County Conservation District, where he played a critical role in developing the Wyoming Conservation Exchange with partners from the University of Wyoming, Environmental Defense Fund, the Wyoming Stock Growers Association and the Wyoming chapter of The Nature Conservancy.

In his new role, Eric will work with potential buyers and sellers of conservation credits to facilitate pilot transactions and market growth.

I asked Eric to share some thoughts on what drew him to this role and what he hopes to achieve over the next few months.

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The key ingredient in a resilient food supply: healthy soil

Dec. 5 is World Soil Day.

Dec. 5 is World Soil Day.

Last year, the United Nations General Assembly declared December 5th as World Soil Day. This annual event aims to “connect people with soils and raise awareness of their critical importance in our lives.”

As the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N. notes, we often ignore soil’s key role in our food systems, climate, and in sustaining biodiversity. Today, 33 percent of the planet’s soils are considered degraded – and this has vast implications for meeting the world’s growing demand for food.

In honor of World Soil Day, I asked Nick Goeser, Ph.D., soil health and sustainability manager for the National Corn Growers Association, to elaborate on why soil really matters.

How is soil health tied to food production? Read More »

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