Douglas County updates pilot Land Protection Program; Kansas Land Trust advancing three projects

Douglas County commissioners on Sept. 10 heard an update on a pilot Land Protection Program and a partnership with the Kansas Land Trust to pursue voluntary conservation agreements on private property.

The program, which the county developed from its Open Space Plan, was seeded in July 2022 with a $2,780,000 allocation for open-space implementation from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds; the county subsequently formalized a $250,000 agreement with the Kansas Land Trust to launch the pilot. Caitlin Amerlin, the county’s heritage conservation coordinator, and Caitlin Stanley, executive director of the Kansas Land Trust, described outreach, applications and next steps.

Program details and why it matters

The Open Space Plan, adopted by Douglas County in April 2024 after a multi-year planning process, set criteria and priorities for conservation. Amerlin told commissioners the pilot was intended to help private landowners access conservation pathways and to implement parts of that plan. "The Land Protection Program is a pilot program ... designed to support voluntary conservation agreements and pathways for Douglas County landowners," Amerlin said.

Kansas Land Trust reported 16 inquiries in response to the pilot’s outreach and 8 eligible applications; staff identified 3 projects that "rose to the top," Stanley said. The projects were selected primarily for their "significant public benefits," as measured against the county’s open-space criteria.

The three projects under…