LIGHTNING CREEK RANCH AVOIDED GRASSLAND CONVERSION

Climate Trust Capital has invested in a voluntary grasslands project on three ranches totaling 22,000 acres in Oregon’s Wallowa County. This investment in the grassland conservation sector helps protect one of the most ecologically important prairies in the United States. Investment funding provided additional financing for the purchase of ranch conservation easements by The Nature Conservancy. The easements will permanently protect soil carbon from release through tilling or other forms of land conversion. 

This investment supports ranching livelihoods and rural economies. The agricultural conservation easements ensure that the ranches can continue being grazed without the threat of conversion to row cropping and supports ranch operations with annual carbon payments. 

Courtesy of The Nature Conservancy and Aaron Huey