Conservation Stewardship Program

Your Stewardship Goals. Our Assistance.

Have you ever looked across your property and thought about some land management goals you would like to take to the next level? Maybe we can help.

No one knows more about your land than you do, and no one knows more about conservation than we do. Together we can develop a plan tailored to your land and your goals to help you increase productivity and protect the value of your land.

Our Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) helps you build on your existing conservation efforts while strengthening your operation. Whether you are looking to improve grazing conditions, increases crop yields, or develop wildlife habitat, we can custom design a CSP plan to help you meet those goals.  We can help you schedule timely planting of cover crops, develop a grazing plan that will improve your forage base, implement no-till to reduce erosion or manage forested areas in a way that benefits wildlife habitat.  If you are already taking steps to improve the condition of the land, chances are CSP can help you find new ways to meet your goals.

Sustainable Production

CSP is for working lands. It is the largest conservation program in the United States with 70 million acres of productive agricultural and forest land enrolled in CSP. Thousands of people have made the choice to voluntarily enroll in the program because it helps them enhance natural resources and improve their business operation.

Some of the benefits include:

• Improved cattle gains per acre
• Increased crop yields
• Decreased inputs
• Wildlife population improvements
• Better resilience to weather extremes

Through CSP, we can help build your business while implementing conservation practices that help ensure the sustainability of your entire operation. Good land stewardship not only conserves the natural resources on your farm, ranch or forest, it also provides multiple benefits to local communities, including better water and air quality and wildlife habitat, as well as food and fiber.

CSP Enhancements

Enhancements are management activities that go above and beyond the minimum conservation practice standard requirements, helping the producer achieve a higher level of conservation. 

2019 CSP Enhancements coming soon!

To view the Colorado CSP Enhancements, click on the banner below.

CSP in Colorado

1. ​​Colorado's Activity List 

2. Colorado's Enhancement Compatibility Table 

3. Ranking Pool General, SDFR & BFR	Targeted Resource Concerns	CAET Template Landowner Eligibility Questions	Ranking Questions	Screening Tools
   All Colorado	Soil Erosion Soil Quality Degradation Degraded Plant Condition Water Quality Degradation Fish and Wildlife Inadequate Habitat	Associated Ag Land Crop (Annual) Crop (Perennial) Farmstead Pasture Range	Statewide Ag Lands
   Ogallala Aquifer Initiative	Soil Erosion Soil Quality Degradation Insufficient Water Water Quality Degradation Inefficient Energy Use	Associated Ag Land Crop (Annual) Farmstead Pasture Crop (Perennial) Range	OAI	OAI
   Sage Grouse Initiative	Soil Erosion Soil Quality Degradation Degraded Plant Condition Fish and Wildlife Inadequate Habitat Livestock Production Limitation	Associated Ag Land Crop (Annual) Farmstead Pasture Crop (Perennial) Range	SGI	SGI
   Lesser Prairie Chicken Initiative	Soil Quality Degradation Water Quality Degradation Degraded Plant Condition Fish and Wildlife Inadequate Habitat Livestock Production Limitation	Associated Ag Land Crop (Annual) Farmstead Pasture Crop (Perennial) Range	LPCI	LPCI
   Non-Industrial Private Forest All Colorado	Soil Erosion Water Quality Degradation Degraded Plant Condition Air Quality Fish and Wildlife Inadequate Habitat	Associated Ag Land Farmstead Forest	NIPF​

4. Colorado Resource Conserving Crop Rotation

5. Colorado Payment Schedule

6. Conservation Program Application (NRCS-CPA-1200)

Contact:

For further information and assistance, contact your local NRCS Service Center