History
History of the Eagle Valley Land Trust
The Eagle Valley Land Trust was founded in 1982 by Roger Tilkemeier. The original board of directors included John Benton, Floyd Crawford, Chris Jouflas, Don Price, George Rosenberg and Jen Wright. It was the third land trust established in Colorado. Just as the Land Trust was getting off the ground, the sharp recession of 1982 curtailed the immediate need for it.
During the next several years, growth was sharply reduced in Eagle County. In 1989 the Land Trust accepted a donation of 62 acres of land near Eagle on Brush Creek. This land was subsequently put under conservation easement.
In the early 1990s, rapid growth began anew in Eagle County. In 1994 Board President Terrill Knight began to reinvigorate the Land Trust. New board members were added and the board began a search for funds to hire an Executive Director.
In 1996 the trust received a grant from the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund to hire an Executive Director. Thanks to matching funds from Vail Associates, Harry Frampton of East West Partners, Cordillera, the Catto Charitable Foundation and the Ruth and Vernon Taylor Foundation, the Trust secured the necessary funds to hire its first full time staff person.
After a substantial search, the Trust hired Brad Udall in May, 1997. Upon becoming EVLT's Executive Director, Brad emphasized three primary goals for meaningful conservation projects in Eagle County: to protect key lands, especially in the I-70 corridor; to provide for the long term financial security of the trust; and to acquire a source of funds to purchase land and development rights. Under Brad's leadership, the Land Trust completed several significant projects. Among the most important achievements were the conservation easements placed on Webster Ranch and the Diamond S Ranch, the inclusion of 640 acres of state-owned land in the conservation-oriented Stewardship Trust and the public acquisition of more than 1,800 acres along East and West Brush Creek which became part of Sylvan Lake State Park.
In the ensuing years, the Trust developed an annual fundraising event (The SHINDIG); enhanced its educational materials and produced a polished annual report. The EVLT team also implemented a number of standard business practices, including an annual audit, a copy of which is available on the EVLT website. Through the years, the Trust has completed 18 conservation transactions, the largest of which is the 4,800-acre Bair Ranch easement.
EVLT was selected in February 2007 to be one of 22 land trusts to participate in the Land Trust Alliance Accreditation Commission's pilot program. EVLT has since become one of the first land trusts in the country to achieve voluntary accreditation.
In 2009 Kara Heide was hired as Executive Director, New New Wallace as Director of Development & Marketing and Paul Bird as projects coordinator. This gifted team developed and produced the first annual Evergreen Ball fundraiser in conjunction with the Eagle Valley Alliance for Sustainability and the Eagle River Watershed Council. The Ball is the valleys first wholly sustainable and carbon neutral event.
