Where the Buffalo Roam

“The Cool Effect purchase of these tonnes allowed Southern Plains Land Trust to purchase additional land to add to existing lands designated for conservation and protection of native grassland animals and plants. Without the sale of carbon, it is unlikely that the expansion would have taken place.

The addition of land to this project area will secure the passage of animals through newly evolved animal corridors and shortgrass prairie preserves and enhance further improvement to their ecosystems. The project also does work to repair and restore the prairie to its original state.”

– Geisa Príncipe, Director of Project Research

Project Type: Avoided Nature Loss

Carbon Standard: Climate Action Reserve (CAR)

Vintage: 2019-2020

Additionality: Without the sale of carbon, this project will not be able to fulfill its goal of restoring the “American Serengeti” by purchasing and restoring of new land as well as avoiding the conversion of grassland to cropland.

Permanence: Based on a risk evaluation tool, the project has allocated 1.3% of its credits to a buffer pool that provides a safeguard in the event of a reversal. Large reversals are unlikely because grasslands store most of the sequestered carbon in their roots. This project is in the lowest risk category, as an accredited land trust.

Site Visit: Q4 2022

Each year, SPLT has dramatically increased its pace of land acquisition focused on southeastern Colorado, a biodiversity hotspot.

Once SPLT purchases the land, it puts legal protections in place to ensure that the land will always be a wildlife refuge. With the help of volunteers and other nonprofit organizations, they begin the work of actively restoring the land.

The different crews tackled the hard work of:

• Building rock and reclaimed wood structures along degraded streams and drainages so it will help the prairie capture rainfall by slowing and spreading water out after heavy rains. This will, in turn, create prime habitat for lush vegetation, shrubs, and cottonwoods to regrow.
• Remove tamarisk trees that are choking streams and crowding out native species. This work is vital as non-native, invasive species are the second greatest threat to wildlife habitat after habitat loss.
• Restore riparian areas along streams and rivers important for travel routes and wildlife habitat. To restore these riparian areas, SPLT planted hundreds of cottonwood, coyote willow, and three-leaf sumac saplings over the past several years.
• Rewilding the area for wildlife as people have always been part of the southern plains, and unfortunately, leave behind building materials, farming and ranching implements, and other debris.

With the collaboration of neighbors, it launched a major fencing removal and modification project. As a result, it has modified or replaced 50 miles of periphery fences that will allow wildlife to safely cross, while keeping cattle on their pastures outside of the refuges.

In December 2020, it welcomed ten new bison to the Heartland Ranch Nature Preserve expansion area to establish the conservation herd. The herd of Bison, which now number 24, are also active players in the rewilding.

• Restores riparian areas
• Removal of nonnative trees
• Restores water streams
• Partnerships with local environmental nonprofit
• Conservation of multitudes of wildlife from herds of bison to prairie dogs
• Conservation and rehabilitation of historical buildings used for educational purposes
• Sequestration of 15,000 metric tons of carbon annually
• Removal of fences and barbed wire for free movement of wildlife and avoidance of deadly injuries
• Removal of debris left behind by century of ranching

• Grasslands are among the most endangered ecosystems globally
• Grassland fires