Paul Holsinger, Agriculture and Conservation Easement Administrator for Pitkin County Open Space and Trails, has been appointed by the Governor to serve on Colorado’s Conservation Easement Oversight Commission.
The commission was established to increase the accountability and transparency of the conservation easement tax credit program.
“Landowners in Colorado have taken advantage of this program by granting conservation easements and protecting Colorado’s amazing natural areas in exchange for tax credits, which they are able to sell to realize some monetary compensation,” said Holsinger, who monitors land protected by Pitkin County through conservation easements. The program has been critical in conserving more than 2 million acres of privately protected land in Colorado, he said.
The commission will guide the newly created Division of Conservation in administering the program to ensure this benefit to landowners and the conservation values of Colorado are maintained.
“Paul is an excellent choice for this commission, since for the past seven years with Pitkin County Open Space and Trails, he has done a tremendous job working with landowners in the Roaring Fork Valley in managing the county’s 15,000 acres of conservation easements,” said Gary Tennenbaum, director of Open Space and Trails.
Prior to his work with Pitkin County, Holsinger was a Colorado Conservation Trust Fellow for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust.