Are you inspired to protect and enhance the natural resources of the state of Colorado? Do you want to go to work to support sustainable farming and regenerative agriculture on working lands? Look no further. This is your dream job.
The Colorado State Land Board -- a state agency that manages a $5 billion endowment of financial, land, and mineral assets for the benefit of K-12 schoolchildren -- is looking for a Regenerative Agriculture Manager to join our Field Operations Stewardship Services team. On any given day you might be presenting to our Governor-appointed Commissioners, inventorying ecological data, building action plans for the enhancement of managed land, liaising with agriculture communities, or hiking mountainous terrain to inspect our various trust properties.
What is the State Land Board?
The State Land Board is a constitutionally created agency that manages a $5 billion endowment of assets for the intergenerational benefit of Colorado’s K-12 schoolchildren and public institutions. The agency is the second-largest landowner in Colorado and generates revenue on behalf of beneficiaries by leasing nearly three million surface acres and four million subsurface acres that are carefully managed for grazing and agriculture, natural resource extraction, renewable energy, recreation, commercial real estate and other uses. Unlike public lands, trust lands are not open to the public unless a property has been leased for public access. We are entirely self-funded and receive no tax dollars.
Though we are a 148-year old, constitutionally chartered agency, we take pride in being entrepreneurial and business-savvy. We compete in private sector markets daily and generate more than $250 million in revenue annually.
What is Regenerative Agriculture and the Biodiversity Program? How does it support Field Operations?
The Regenerative Agriculture Manager will protect and enhance species and ecosystem biodiversity on state trust lands through the implementation of proven land, habitat, and species management practices and ecosystem services leasing opportunities. The State Land Board manages nearly 3 million acres of working lands under a dual constitutional mandate to generate reasonable and consistent income over time to benefit K-12 education and provide sound stewardship of state trust assets. While we own and lease these assets, we are not operators. Lessees are responsible for all ranching operations. That said, we partner with our lessees to ensure that the land is well managed and that the agency’s stewardship objectives are met. Our job is to raise money for Colorado public schools while ensuring that the land is well cared for in order to benefit future generations. This presents an opportunity to increase biodiversity across a significant land area while improving the long-term sustainability and productivity of the SLB’s trust lands, resulting in healthy, biologically diverse ecosystems that are more resilient to stressors such as overgrazing, drought and other extreme weather events, and climate change. All state trust lands are working lands and careful stewardship is essential to fulfilling both components of the State Land Board’s constitutional mandate to ensure the long-term economic value of the physical trust assets.
The job opportunity
This is not your typical government job. We want you to share in our excitement over intergenerational stewardship of natural assets and share in our pride of providing significant financial support to Colorado’s public schools. Your work will be a model across the country for land stewardship.
The Regenerative Agriculture Manager supports the more than 1,800 agriculture lessees working state trust lands across Colorado. The position works together with district staff and lessees to promote and implement regenerative management practices for grazing and crop production (both irrigated and dryland farming). Upholding the dual mission of the State Land Board, the position advocates for and educates lessees in sustainable ranching and farming techniques that create long term health and value for the land, including soil health, and are good business practices that have the potential to increase profits for agriculture operators. The position involves frequent visits with lessees on their leased properties to monitor conditions, complete property inspections, and help the Land Board’s partners (the lessees) execute their regenerative management plans effectively. The land board has several large ranch properties that are managed through individual asset management plans. The position will participate in the update of these plans and in the implementation of the goals that relate to regenerative agriculture. The position will also prepare regular reports for District Managers and Field Operations leadership on the status of the regenerative agriculture work being done on trust land.
Your duties include:
- Get your boots dirty. Regularly visit properties and lessees throughout the state to provide on-site staff presence and perform property condition assessments.
- Determine when a property requires remediation to restore conditions of a healthy ecosystem, combat soil erosion or improve hydrologic connectivity.
- Formulate recommendations and support planning for the management of trust lands health.
- Work with partners and lessees to implement plans that promote the regeneration or establishment of desirable rangeland vegetation.
- Review internal plans for leasing of trust lands and determine the potential impact to the stewardship values of a property and formulate lease stipulations to manage risks
- Support the Field Operations Team in the implementation and monitoring of grazing plans and determination of outcomes
- Build up the program. You’ll be indoors typing at a computer as often as you’ll be in the field. (You’ll be part of an office that supports each other, but be prepared to make your own photocopies.)
- Establishes/determines metrics for rangeland health on trust lands, helps to set benchmark goals, and develops plans and takes actions to meet these goals
- Based on your property inspections, create baseline documentation of current conditions, prepare written monitoring reports, and maintain document files according to agency policies.
- Inventory ecological and ecosystem conditions and natural values resources on each property. Determine how to store and leverage data.
- Decide when third party consultant expertise is necessary, what budget is appropriate for the required services, and which consultants will be selected to do the work.
- Do outreach. Land management is as much about people as it is about the land.
- Partner with our district staff (who are located in 6 offices throughout the state) and our administrative staff (who are located in our Denver headquarters) to achieve the desired resource management outcomes on a particular property.
- Educate lessees, stakeholders, and staff and other interested parties on the goals and objectives of plans, biodiversity programs including grazing management and soil health, lease stipulations related to rangeland ecology and ecosystem function, and best practices
- Host forums and workshops led by subject matter experts that help educate our lessees about regenerative agriculture practices and how they can implement them in their operations
- Provides subject matter expertise on federal, state, and local programs that support regenerative agriculture and rangeland health, and supports lessees and partners with applications for funding and resources that will improve the condition of state trust land from the point of biodiversity and rangeland carbon.
- Speak at the podium. You’ll present your recommendations/findings/etc somewhat regularly to senior staff, our Board, and external groups.
What can you expect from us in return for your hard work?
We are a lean team of 50 staff members that places significant emphasis on promoting and maintaining a positive work environment. We get our work done, and we have fun doing it. The qualities of our environment include transparent and open communication, work-life balance (we mean it), and a focus on training and development. You’ll explore and travel our state on day trips or multi-day trips, but minimal out-of-state travel is required. As a state employee, you have access to a suite of HR benefits and holidays.
What attributes are we looking for?
You’re the type of person who knows the difference between blue grama grass and cheatgrass without looking it up. You respect the agriculture community. And presumably you love the outdoors.
While we value your hard-earned education credentials and admire your impressive professional titles, we care the most about your hands-on track record for natural resources management. To be successful (and we know you strive to do everything very well), we think you need to have the following traits and skills.
- Good written and oral communication with the ability to convey information to others effectively and efficiently
- Independent yet also a team player, proactively helps others
- Project management skills
- Strong interpersonal skills
- Customer-service mindset, respectful, helpful
- Proactive, takes initiative, self motivated
- Possesses good problem solving skills, seeks to understand alternatives, employs logic and good judgment
- Self confident and self aware
- Great work ethic: results oriented, disciplined, conscientious, thorough and diligent
- Honest, trustworthy, dependable
- Enthusiastic, energetic, optimistic, positive attitude
- Organized and professional
- Adaptable and open to change
At a minimum, you need the following:
- Eight (8) years of relevant experience in the development, application, measurement and coordination of regenerative agriculture activities, OR
- A combination of related education and/or relevant experience in an occupation
related to the work assigned equal to eight (8) years, including field experience in agriculture, ranching in Colorado or similar arid environments, rangeland carbon sequestration and management, regenerative grazing, sustainable farming, and agriculture producer education. Acceptable degrees include Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degrees in agricultural sciences, natural resource science, environmental sciences, and soil sciences.
You get bonus points if you show the following qualifications:
- Three (3+) years of experience in the management of large natural landscapes for grazing livestock and/or crop production in Colorado, especially using regenerative practices
- Experience in working with producers who lease private, local government, state, or federal property as part of their operation
- Three (3+) years of experience in soil health management, low impact crop production, and regenerative crop production
- Experience in programs run by state and federal agriculture and natural resources agencies (eg – NRCS) that support the development and application of regenerative agriculture and soil health practices.
- Hands-on knowledge of GIS and GPS systems and ArcGIS tools
- Certifications in fields related to regenerative agriculture, or sustainable agriculture.
- Current or former State experience relevant to this position
We hope this sounds like you. Tell us why. Apply online through the state portal.
Applications are accepted through 11/8/24.
PS: We compete in the private-sector markets every day and operate largely independently from state government. But not from HR. So please follow the lengthy prompts to apply for this position through the state hiring portal. Only candidates who apply through the state portal will be considered. Think of it as an endurance test. We hope to see you at the finish line.