http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/Keep Working Lands Working the PLN blog by Amos Eno and guest bloggers: weekly news on innovative programs and organizations working for conservation and management of private land.(c) 2001, Private Landowner Network. All rights reserved.5How the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program in northwest Arkansas can beat the price of a cow/calf operation . . .http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=12705/03/2012Bob Belick of Sustainable Strategies defines conservation far more broadly than you might thinkhttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=12604/20/2012The Renewable Energy for America Program would work better if it were easier to use and more widely available.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=12504/10/2012Helping Rural Residents to Make Alternative Energy Sources a Reality http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=12404/05/2012The Tecumseh Land Trust in Ohio relies on PLN to help educate landowners about conservation easementshttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=12303/27/2012Effective Use of the NRCS Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Programhttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=12203/22/2012Free training opportunities around the country for new CRP initiativeshttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=12103/13/2012Free nationwide trainings to support outsourcing of Conservation Reserve Program tech supporthttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=12003/08/2012Northeastern companies are setting the pace for practicing responsible long-term forestry, guaranteed for generations to come http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=11903/01/2012Excerpts from a recent speech to the Allegheny Society of American Forestershttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=11802/22/2012FB, "friend," Tw, and "tweets" join RFF, PLN, and CCChttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=11702/16/2012A new partnership in Florida has embraced the PLN model for landowner outreach.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=11602/07/2012Bob Williams, a forester with a mission, filmed "A Working Forest, Its Future with Fire, People & Wildlife" to begin a conversation . . .http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=11502/02/2012David Bamberger advocates living on the land as the way to retain knowledge of natural forces and ecology.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=11401/24/2012How David Bamberger's land ethic was born and transformed a "beat up" piece of Texas ground.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=11301/17/2012How One Texas Rancher Helped to Feed People While Saving his Ranch from the Drought.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=11201/11/2012Fire and the Future of Yellowstone 1989 to 2011http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=11101/05/2012Great Idea, Great Need, Great Story, Great Time to Givehttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=11012/26/2011How Wood for Haiti proposes to improve western forests while aiding Haiti.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=10812/22/2011The serendipitous story of how Wood for Haiti was createdhttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=10712/20/2011How beetle-killed wood from Western forests may be the key to rebuilding Haiti.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=10612/13/2011A Vision for How Landowners Can Take Greater Responsibility to Make a Differencehttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=10512/06/2011The Blackfoot Challenge in Montana brings together everyone under the "80-20 rule."http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=10411/30/2011Can you recognize which Americans throughout our nation’s history have been thankful for these many forms of America’s bounty?http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=10311/23/2011Looking for a few good private landowners to make important things happen across the country.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=10211/17/2011Testimony before Congress by Jim Stone of Rolling Stone Ranch in Montanahttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=10111/10/2011The many ways that ranchers in Idaho are contributing to the conservation of a great American landscape.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=10011/01/2011How grass fed meat can support health while sustaining western ecosystemshttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=9910/27/2011Using pronghorn antelope as a charismatic species to engage communities in maintaining and reconnecting rangelandshttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=9810/25/2011How using nonlethal methods of wolf control has decreased sheep predation by more than 90%http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=9710/20/2011An Ecological Philosophy of Ranchinghttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=9610/18/2011The duty of all staff at Lava Lakes Ranch is to leave the landscape in better condition than they found it.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=9510/13/2011Using High Tech Tools to Manage the Flock and Follow the Grazing Prescriptionhttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=9410/11/2011How a Childhood Working with Cattle Led an Investment Banker Back to a Working Ranchhttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=9310/06/2011Making Working Wildlands Work for Conservationhttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=9210/04/2011Planning for your financial future - whether you intend to keep your property or not.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=9109/30/2011Insights on how to value land wealth over the long termhttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=9009/28/2011Landowners have special needs for real property financial advice http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=8909/23/2011How are we doing? http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=8809/16/2011What this Writer on Range thinks . . .http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=8709/09/2011Drug trafficking and illegal border crossings from the perspective of a rancher http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=8609/02/2011Lawsuits . . . they're not just for activists anymore http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=8508/31/2011Endangered Leopard Frogs Finding a Home in the “Stock Pond” http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=8408/25/2011Tales of Sonora Chub, Lesser Long-nosed Bats, and the Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy Owlhttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=8308/23/2011The proper type of grazing is also one of the best means of managing for wildlifehttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=8208/19/201150,000 Acres of Ecological Success on the Chilton Ranch in Arizonahttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=8108/12/2011Ground Zero of Touchstone Issues in the American Westhttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=8008/10/2011DFFHFCC9UED2 Two poems that illustrate the relationship between ranchers and their land and animals, from Patricia Frolander, a lauded and award-winning American poet.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=7908/04/2011You won’t be growing longleaf pine in Massachusetts, but within ecological reason, the best way to be a steward of your property is to clarify your desireshttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=7807/28/2011Tips from Rans Thomas, of Thomas Resources Wildlife and Land Enhancement, on how to get the most bang for your buck.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=7707/26/2011In today’s market, there are many properties and almost as many “experts,” creating a “buyer beware” situationhttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=7607/22/2011Rans Thomas has a new consulting business, Thomas Resources Wildlife and Land Enhancement, which can provide products and equipment at below retail prices.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=7507/20/2011Recreational property management with the landowner in mind is what the recently launched Thomas Resources Wildlife and Land Enhancement is all about.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=7407/12/2011Railway company will restore 10,000 acres of lower Mississippi Valley forest, benefiting landowners, ecosystems, and their bottom linehttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=7306/28/2011Building Community and Quality of Life through Habitat Protection and Restorationhttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=7106/05/2011One Example of How Farmers Must Adjust, Recalibrate, and Innovate Their Operations to Stay in Businesshttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=7006/01/2011M. Marsh Farms in South Carolina will be among the first in the country to pursue energy independence by recycling animal waste into renewable energyhttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=6905/26/2011How partnerships help landowners and declining wildlife species at the same time.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=6805/19/2011The Views of Bryan Arroyo, Former Farmer and Shepherd, Career Biologist and Lifelong Conservationisthttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=6705/10/2011How to make economic downturn and urban environmental problems turn into dynamic locally based action for change.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=6605/03/2011One-Stop Shop Sites for Landowners in Individual States: the Value Addedhttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=6504/29/2011An exploration of the importance of private lands and the implications of declining public funds and low public understanding.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=6404/21/2011Whether in the West or the East, riparian habitat is where it’s at for wildlife, water conservation, flood control, and beauty.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=6304/14/2011Private landowners on America’s working land - farm, ranch, or forest - are changing. They have new needs and we need a new approach to help them.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=6204/04/2011Internet training is here and promises only to grow. The Texas Agrilife Extension Service sets an excellent example.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=6103/31/2011The Rangewide Conservation Plan for Longleaf Pine, created by a public-private partnership, aims to restore long leaf pine on a landscape scale.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=6003/24/2011Direct from the National Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year: the advantages and aesthetics of long leaf pinehttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=5903/15/2011Restoration of longleaf pine ecosystems is the “secret ingredient” for success in managing wildlife, wildfire, habitat, and plants in the Deep Southhttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=5803/08/2011The Art and Science of Meadow Restoration on an Organic Farm http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=5703/02/2011Nick Lapham’s Long-term Approach to Agriculture, Restoration and Life in Rappahannock County, Virginiahttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=5603/01/2011A true story of what went on behind the scenes over 8 years to execute easements on the Salisbury-O’Toole Ladder Ranch in Colorado and Wyominghttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=5502/25/2011Why does the pace of change in energy and transport seem to be zero when we know technology is racing ahead . . . all across our inventive land? -Ken Berlinhttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=5402/17/2011Envisioning a program to conserve high plains shortgrass prairie, generate ranch income, and educate the public about the Great Plainshttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=5302/10/2011The founder of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund explains how the rights of netsmen are like the rights of small landowners http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=5202/03/2011Orri Vigfusson, the world’s number one salmon conservationist, explains his idea of a “fair deal,” paying netsmen and long-liners for their fishing rightshttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=5101/26/2011Michael Van Patten’s Mission Markets Earth is a first-of-its-kind trading platform designed to help everyone, including private landowners, trade ecosystem creditshttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=5001/21/2011Two Atlanta Braves Baseball Stars Pitch Forest Stewardship to Fellow Landowners, Teachers, Kids, and Legislatorshttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=4901/11/2011An increased tax deduction for conservation not only increases protected land, but increases justice in society.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=4801/04/2011PLN’s “Keep Working Lands Working” blog takes a look back at some of the most thought provoking statements and events of 2010 http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=4712/30/2010It’s a family affair at the North Parish Christmas Tree Farm in central Maine.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=4612/20/2010In Central Minnesota, Greg Nolan seeks to spread “forestry with a small f” by incubating mom-and-pop businesses on a landscape scale. http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=4512/16/2010In Oregon and Washington, coached Forest Stewardship Planning is an investment, not only in forests, but in the people who care for the land.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=4412/08/2010Perspectives of a beginner in the western ranching business: Nikos Monoyios says ranches are important because ranchers provide land & water stewardship.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=4312/01/2010USFS State and Private Forestry is working smarter to meet demand and thinking strategically to conserve landscapes.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=4211/23/2010Exciting new partnership using renewable energy to restore sagebrush has taken hold among rangeland managers, ranchers, and the biofuels industry in Nevada.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=4111/16/2010Locust Hill Farm in Fauquier County, Virginia is a Study in Youthful Stewardship and Wired Technologyhttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=4011/08/2010Magalen Bryant is an effective leader, committed conservationist, and genuine philanthropist. But she’d rather you just call her Maggie.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=3911/02/2010A sixth-generation ranch in Wyoming and Colorado meets the 21st century with innovation and family unity.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=3810/26/2010The first Great Depression and Dust Bowl resulted in great strides for conservation and stewardship. What about this time?http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=3710/19/2010“The time to save species is when they are still common.”http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=3610/14/2010Tom Daniels has designed the country’s only certificate program for land preservation, in operation for the past three years.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=3510/05/2010Keith Ross is once again leading an innovative initiative to conserve large contiguous blocks of managed forestshttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=3409/28/2010Ten years ago a conservation easement on three-quarters of a million acres of land was unheard of. The Pingree Partnership changed all that.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=3309/23/2010CRT and the Rangeland Coalition have broken the decades-long impasse between ranchers, conservationists, and “big government.” Now they just need cash.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=3209/15/2010The Land Trust movement - and the future heritage of our country - is sustained by committed individuals and families with a long-term vision of the future.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=3109/08/2010The Forest Service and Gary Myers are Worried About the Future of the World’s Most Diverse Temperate Forestshttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=3009/01/2010The state that spawned the Sagebrush Rebellion is quietly fomenting a new revolution: collaboration in the name of conserving wildlife and water. http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=2908/26/2010Connectivity, argues Ed Hastey, is the answer to a lot of our conservation problems on both public and private lands - but do energy companies realize that?http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=2808/19/2010A decades-long state director for the Bureau of Land Management makes a case for private lands as critical conservation corridors. http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=2708/10/2010Our new Mississippi State Conservation Center highlights the Magnolia state’s wildlife, forests, and agriculture. http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=2608/05/2010Creating a succession plan is not the same as estate planning; think of it as designing your family legacy.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=2507/27/2010Private Landowner demand for services from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department grows while federal support faces cutbackshttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=2407/21/2010The Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust: making best use of a tax credit and lottery funds. http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=2307/14/2010Connecticut's Oldest Land Trust Faces America’s Latest Problems: Budget Woes and Property Turnoverhttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=2207/07/2010This post is a continuation from last week’s, about the Malpai Borderlands Group, or MBG, a group of ranchers working to protect their land and ranching heritage.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=2106/28/2010Ranchers in southeast Arizona at the Mexican Border have learned - sometimes the hard way - that they are “attached to the rest of the world.” http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=2006/22/2010A new program in Wyoming links kids to ranching. This is the kind of innovative thinking that could spread like wildfire.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=1906/16/2010Wide open range land, narrow profit margins, big sky, high taxes, tall southern pines, growing debt: factors driving the Private Landowner Network or PLN.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=1806/11/2010Take a look at my latest presentation on why the conservation community, both public and private, needs to consider a reorientation of their land conservation focus from public land acquisition to private land conservation initiatives.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=1304/02/2010This the transcript of the speech I gave at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Public Lands Council meeting on February 26, 2009http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=1103/02/2009I have been trying to ascertain for months whether the conservation easement deductions provided in the 2008 Farmbill apply to forest landowners.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=1009/19/2008A review of the current ranch-land conservation-scapehttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=906/20/2008http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=805/27/2008I just read that the USDA's nationwide Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) topped the 1 million acre mark last week with the addition of a 60 acre tract in Minnesota.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=701/23/2008More than 11,000 acres were protected in Massachusetts in 2007 through conserrvation  easementshttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=601/07/2008Now that the 2006 Pension Bill provisions are due to expire in just over a month it is becoming more and more imperative to persuade the senate and househttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=511/16/2007RFF just posted its first state conservation websitehttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=411/02/2007http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=309/28/2007I have worked in conservation for over 35 years, and my career path, which might be more appropriately dubbed the “careening” path of a total maverickhttp://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=209/04/2007My name is Amos S. Eno and I am President of the Resources First Foundation (hereafter RFF), which I established in 2000.http://www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnBlog/post.aspx?id=109/04/2007