The Partnership of Rangeland Trusts (PORT) is a collaborative organization made up of seven land trusts from across the West that are affiliated with their state livestock associations. PORT is comprised of: 

• Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT)
• California Rangeland Trust
• Ranchland Trust of Kansas
• Texas Agricultural Land Trust
• Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust
• Montana Land Reliance
• Northwestern Rangeland Trust.

PORT’s main function is to share best practices in private land conservation on working agricultural lands across member organizations and to advocate for policy matters that benefit private working lands conservation. 

PORT and its seven members are actively engaged in the development of the conservation title of the 2018 Farm Bill. In early September, the members of PORT organized a fly-in to Washington, D.C. to meet with lawmakers, staffers, and agency leads who are directly involved with the development of the 2018 Farm Bill. During the fly-in, PORT members presented briefings on the conservation easement programs that are under the Conservation Title of the Farm Bill to the staff of the House and Senate Ag Committees. PORT also hosted a reception for committee staff, members of Congress and congressional staff at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s office in DC and met with the leadership of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) easement program. The meetings were productive and PORT’s policy priorities were generally met with a positive reaction. PORT will continue to advocate for its 2018 Farm Bill priorities in hopes of creating a conservation easement program that works much better for landowners in the West. To learn more about PORT, please go to www.maintaintherange.org. 

To learn more about PORT’s 2018 Farm Bill priorities please click here.