Private Investment in Conservation: How Landowners Shape the Future of the American West
Confluence Land Company was founded with the fundamental understanding that private landowners are the silent leaders of Western conservation. Across the American West, about half of all land is privately owned, a statistic often overshadowed when conservation debates generally focus on public lands. From Montana's vast cattle ranches to New Mexico's piñon-dotted mesas, we have been privileged to work alongside large-acreage landowners who invest substantial private resources in conservation work that benefits habitat and enriches the landscape well beyond their own fencelines.
A recent study by the Western Landowners Alliance (WLA) and Southwick Associates, "The Scale of Landowner Investments in Conservation Across the American West," surveyed approximately 650 landowners across eleven Western states, each owning at least 500 acres. Together, these survey participants manage a combined 6.4 million acres, with roughly 90% in active agricultural production of varying scales and vocations." This study provides solid data to a compelling illustration of how critical private landowners are to the greater patchwork of our western landscape.
According to the study, Western landowners managing properties of 500 acres or larger contributed more than $407,500,000 of their own funds into conservation in 2024 alone. This represents roughly $5.18 per acre spent on projects spanning forest and range management to stream restoration and wildlife habitat improvements. The study found that 59% of survey respondents regularly choose less intensive, less profitable land uses to prioritize long-term ecological wellbeing. In line with this notion, Confluence Land Company is committed to aiding landowners in achieving their conservation goals while maintaining the economic viability of their operations.
For additional context, the WLA study shows that the $407.5 million in annual landowner conservation spending surpasses the $342.7 million generated from firearms and fishing equipment excise taxes allocated to state wildlife agencies in these same eleven states via the Pittman-Robertson Act and Dingell-Johnson Act. Landowner contributions also exceed the $341 million distributed through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) across this region.
To grasp why private land conservation holds such importance, one must first understand the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation: the distinct framework guiding most wildlife management throughout the United States and Canada since the early 1900s. This model establishes wildlife as a public trust resource managed by state and federal agencies on behalf of all citizens.
This creates one of the fundamental paradoxes at the heart of Western conservation: while wildlife remains publicly owned and government-managed, much of the highest-quality habitat for those animals occurs predominantly on private property. Throughout the West, private lands support more than three-quarters of the nation's grasslands and wetlands, while providing habitat for two-thirds of species listed under the Endangered Species Act.
The landowners we work with understand this dynamic intuitively and embrace it as part of their stewardship ethic. We asked a few of our clients to weigh in with his thoughts on the topic. Kevin B., who owns multiple properties across Colorado, New Mexico and Texas said this:
"I feel the majority of private landowners at the core, choose to practice land conservation and private land improvement for the greater good of wildlife species. I think most understand that waterfowl spending half the year in Canada that makes its way down South to one of our lakes in say, Colorado or Texas, does not belong to us as landowners. Yet our desire is to create improvements that help those species flourish across the course of time."
That same commitment to improvement is reflected in the breadth and ambition of conservation projects our clients undertake under their own ambition.
"Owning land in Colorado, New Mexico and Texas, we implement a wide range of conservation projects every year. Currently in southern CO and northern NM, we are undergoing a major water and vegetation improvement project in 2026. This includes the construction of more than half a dozen new lakes and ponds to further support wildlife and livestock. We have also implemented a forestry management plan with the approval of the USFS. The goal of this is to remove dead fall timber, invasive underbrush and help to further improve fire mitigation.”
As water scarcity intensifies throughout the West, landowners play a critical role in sustaining and protecting aquatic ecosystems through conservation easements, wetland improvement, stream restoration projects, and voluntary minimum in-stream flow agreements. We have seen first-hand the systemwide impacts these approaches can produce for neighboring and public water resources.
Few people are better positioned to speak to the broader value of these investments than Billy Gascoigne, Director of Agriculture and Strategic Partnerships for Ducks Unlimited (DU) — and also a friend and colleague to us at Confluence Land Company. Sophisticated private landowners often partner with private conservation organizations like DU and others to achieve greater efficiency and economy of scale when addressing conservation projects. Billy summarizes this relationship below.
"Many of the decisions made with respect to private land management — and the Investment required to implement those decisions — have impacts beyond the borders of that private parcel. Economists would call those 'public goods,' others often refer to them as 'ecosystem services.' In my line of work, we are often pooling resources from multiple sources of funding to assist in private land management because each of those various funding sources recognized there are far-reaching benefits. This includes everything from wildlife habitat and migrating populations that support recreation, water storage/replenishment, carbon sequestration, and even safeguarding commodity supply chains for food production.”
If we don't have healthy grasslands in the US we don't have the next generation of beef cattle to help grow the national herd — now at its lowest since the 1950s. We also won't be able to sustain the next generation of waterfowl, as they nest in native grasslands. The question then becomes, "what do private landowners need help with to manage their rangelands and pass their stewardship on to the next generation?" This is where partnerships come together and individual private landowners are the center pin to efforts scaling across entire landscapes. As we bear witness to more stressors — from shifting weather to new data centers — I believe these partnerships will only grow in importance and diversified investment in private lands conservation will follow."
We also recognize that these public benefits come at considerable private expense that is often never recuperated. Per the WLA study, Western landowners sustained roughly $101 million in uncompensated wildlife damage to infrastructure, forage, and crops during 2024. Just 16% of landowners experiencing losses received any payment, and those who did typically recover only 20% of their actual costs. Despite facing these financial burdens, dedicated landowners persist in their conservation investments. Our role is often to help them find tolerable paths forward, whether through identifying compensation programs, negotiating conservation easements, or developing innovative management strategies that balance stewardship with properties' economic realities.
We appreciate that wildlife serves as both an asset and liability for Western landowners. Many of our clients experience genuine satisfaction from providing habitat for public wildlife, yet these same populations can inflict material damage to agricultural properties. Often the uncompensated financial losses continue mounting, while the commitment to stewardship persists each year. Landowners lead their own solutions to these issues, whether that be hunting their property to keep wildlife on the move, laying down fences through migration corridors, or managing livestock grazing to benefit wintering wildlife.
Private landowners also benefit from an extended time perspective unavailable to most investors. Families who own land across generations manage timber stands they may never harvest themselves and rehabilitate streams requiring decades to recover. However, these families often lack the time, funds, or knowledge to leverage their multigenerational commitment into enduring conservation achievement. They simply do it for the land they so cherish.
Western land presents an unusual convergence of advantages: value appreciation, favorable tax treatment, inflation hedging, and the opportunity to enjoy the physical and recreational components of a property. The by-product is often to build a legacy alongside these meaningful conservation outcomes. Perhaps most significantly, landowners express deep satisfaction from participating in one of the world's most effective wildlife management systems.
Unfortunately, this framework struggles to endure in its present form without heightened public support. When asked whether they feel adequately supported in their conservation efforts, the response from landowners is telling.
"I think landowners are efficient in accessing resources they need to manage their lands in their desired fashion. But, I also feel government regulations oftentimes create unnecessary challenges that can often limit private landowners in their ability to create beneficial improvements."
Without adequate support for landowners, development pressures could fragment open landscapes and diminish critical habitats permanently. The team at Confluence Land Company is committed to standing alongside our clients to help bridge this gap and provide support when needed. We view the relationship with our clients as lock-step partners who can bring value through the lifetime of owning a western land asset – not just brokers who guide acquisition or disposition.
We acknowledge the West is the way it is because of the enduring contribution of private landowners and would like to personally recognize this incredible commitment to stewardship for this region we call home. We would also like to thank the Western Landowners Alliance for commissioning such an important study. Read the full report here: "The Scale of Landowner Investments in Conservation Across the American West."
We are proud to support these conservation leaders, and our team is here to support you in achieving your own land stewardship goals.
