A Green and Golden Opportunity: Novel Conservation Programs Spur Economic Development in Rural Communities

By Seth Brown, Erin Guidry, and Mark Lambert

For some people, conservation by its very nature indicates a separation. There is a widespread assumption that conservation occurs in a vacuum and that the end result requires an area to be restricted in order to be protected or preserved. 

Because of this, conservation is often treated like an enemy of economic opportunity. It’s seen as a barrier to progress. But that narrative is an outdated one. 

Through a focus on targeted climate finance initiatives driven by local stakeholders, we can provide tangible economic benefits to rural communities while simultaneously working towards a more climate-friendly future. 

A New Farm Economy

Modern farmers are facing an increasingly challenging economic reality due to rising input costs and record levels of farm debt. At the same time, municipalities, states, and federal agencies are struggling to cope with the impact to water quality created by runoff from agricultural fields.

The Soil and Water Outcomes Fund is a market-driven solution that seeks to holistically address these issues by paying farmers directly for implementing conservation agriculture practices (such as reduced tillage, cover crops, and extended crop rotations). As a result, we see marked improvements to both water quality and carbon sequestration.  

The Soil and Water Outcomes Fund was developed and is jointly managed by ReHarvest Partners (a subsidiary of Quantified Ventures) and AgOutcomes (a subsidiary of the Iowa Soybean Association). The Fund creates new economic opportunities for participating farmers by providing them a pathway to sell the environmental outcomes via emerging ecosystem service markets alongside their more traditional agricultural commodities. 

Payments from the Fund to participating farmers can reach $40 per acre, sufficient in most cases to cover the majority if not all of the cost of implementing conservation practices, and significantly bolstering on-farm revenues. Moreover, studies increasingly show that practices like cover crops—one of the core activities supported by the Fund—boost on-farm profitability. Beyond the direct economic benefits, these conservation practices also improve soil health, bolstering resilience to extreme weather events, lowering farm input costs and reducing yield variability. 

Farms ranging from 35 acres to more than 5,000 acres currently participate in this program. Here’s what a few of those farmers have to say: 

“I look at my conservation efforts this way: this is the only ground we’ve got and we aren’t making more. We, as farmers, need to maintain and sustain the soil we have. If we don’t care for our soil health now, it won’t be here for future generations. This program helps offset the costs of implementing new conservation practices. And I suggest that farmers don’t just try (conservation) for one year. It takes a multi-year commitment to see soil health benefits. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Soil health can’t be built in one day, either.”

— Jordan Albert, Iowa Farmer, Soil and Water Outcomes Fund participant

“Working with the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund allowed us to take our conservation efforts to a larger scale. We have been working on different conservation practices for several years. This opportunity helped us expand those efforts and try things on different fields we hadn’t done in the past. We have managed to balance the economic and agronomic goals. We’ve created a system where these goals can exist together.”

— Nick Hermanson, Iowa Farmer, Soil and Water Outcomes Fund participant

“Being a part of the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund is rewarding, knowing that private entities and municipalities, like Cargill and the City of Cedar Rapids, are supporting our efforts. It’s a unique team approach.” 

— Matt Ollendieck, Iowa Farmer, Soil and Water Outcomes Fund participant

Shared Stewardship

In a similar vein, in Quantified Ventures’ Forestry & Land Use practice area, we’re focusing on working across boundaries and building collaborative partnerships that generate community-wide benefits. One of our flagship projects is The Baileys Trail System, an 88-mile premier mountain biking trail being developed in the Wayne National Forest of southeast Ohio. 

The communities along the trail once thrived due to their abundance of natural resources, but the lack of demand for extractive resources has resulted in pervasive poverty in the region. By joining forces with other towns in Athens County and being willing to engage in novel approaches to financing outdoor recreation, the affected communities have been able to amplify their voice. 

In partnership with the US Forest Service and Quantified Ventures, these communities have taken a holistic approach to integrate their conservation, recreation, and economic development goals. This has enhanced local outdoor recreation opportunities for the community through the development of the Baileys Trail System, while also ensuring local public lands are conserved and new tourists are drawn to the area. 

To fully leverage the opportunity, the local communities united to form the Outdoor Recreation Council of Appalachia (ORCA). This collaborative structure has unlocked a wider range of funding opportunities than would typically be available for trail funding, economic development, or public health projects alone. 

ORCA works in conjunction with state and federal agencies as well as private and non-profit partners. This results in a coordinated effort that will naturally evolve along with the needs of the region. Small communities like this often lack economic power, so this initiative truly puts them in the driver’s seat of their future prosperity, helping to create communities that can thrive economically and maintain the abundant natural resources that people desire. 

“Local residents have seen decades of decline. We are hoping to bring positivity, excitement to the region and highlight our natural beauty and unique assets to enhance community pride,” said Jessie Powers, executive director of ORCA. “This is just one trail system, but it's catalytic nature presents an opportunity to rewrite the narrative of Appalachian Ohio, by using public land resources to showcase recreation opportunities' contribution to quality of life in the region.”

At the end of 2020, the Baileys project won The Chief’s Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Forest Service. The video below goes into more detail about the impacts the trail is having on the area, despite not yet being completed.

This work is a great example of the positive outcomes that can be generated by working across boundaries - both geographic and psychological. We’re excited to apply this model of recreation-meets-conservation in other areas as well. 

Another of our current partnerships seeks to finance the construction of a hut-to-hut trail system stretching from Massachusetts to Canada. The huts will generate income from those enjoying the trail, and the huts themselves will be constructed by local youth, so there is the added benefit of job creation. 

Conservation As An Enabler

At Quantified Ventures, we think it’s time to rewrite the storyline and directly connect conservation and economic opportunity. The theme of this year’s Earth Day is “Restore Our Earth.” Our goal is to consistently work toward that restoration while providing tactile benefits to people on an individual and community level. 

Conservation, if approached strategically—with insight from local stakeholders, with a focus on paying for outcomes, and with an eye towards collaboration—can, in fact, be an enabler of economic growth. If you feel that your community might benefit from this type of approach to solve an environmental, social, or health problem, we’d love to connect with you to brainstorm an innovative solution.