Susan Morée talks to Lance Irving, a vice president at the Sand County Foundation, about the Leopold Conservation Award, which is now open to applicants. Here is a transcript of their conversation.
Susan Morée:
So Lance, tell me about the New Mexico Leopold Conservation Award and what is it that you're looking for in applicants?
Lance Irving:
The Leopold Conservation Award in New Mexico seeks to recognize farmers, ranchers, or forest landowners for their voluntary conservation measures on their own working land. So, essentially what we're trying to do is we're trying to recognize those folks that are going above and beyond and showcasing that conservation and production can and should have a symbiotic relationship.
Susan Morée:
Do these conservationists inspire others?
Lance Irving:
Absolutely. I think that the very best resource for teaching farmers and ranchers is other farmers and ranchers that are faced with similar situations. There's not only that credibility, but there's also those folks that can answer the questions from a perspective that nobody else on the outside can.
Susan Morée:
And talk a little bit about why it's important for farmers and ranchers to be concerned with conservation like soil health, water quality, wildlife habitat.
Lance Irving:
In addition to food and fiber, farmers and ranchers provide just a ton of environmental benefits. And you talk with a farmer or rancher, almost always one of their primary goals is to leave the land better than they found it. You know, to set up that next generation for success. And so, conservation is a way to do that. Conservation is a way to have agriculture not be an extractive practice, but actually be a regenerative practice, add to the soil, add to the water table add to the wildlife habitat and just create a better environment for the next generation.
Susan Morée:
Lance, you and the Sand County Foundation are based in Wisconsin, but this is called the Aldo Leopold Conservation Award. Can you talk a little bit about Aldo Leopold's importance to southwest New Mexico?
Lance Irving:
Aldo Leopold is most known for his book, A Sands County Almanac, and that's where Sands County Foundation gets its name. Leopold was also a pioneering conservationist and forester. And he proposed the nation's first wilderness area, the Gila Wilderness. This is where he formulated many of his ideas that shaped his further work. And he just understood the importance of not only wilderness but the fact that the same tools that have been used to, in some cases, destroy wilderness can also be the tools used to bring back wilderness and help manage it. So, you know, he spent some of the most important years of his life in the Southwest. New Mexico really had a profound impact on him as he developed the idea of what we now call a land ethic, and that's just doing the right thing by the land because it's the right thing to do.
Susan Morée:
All right, thank you.
Lance Irving:
Thank you.
