San Miguel’s PEZ soil-health pilot seeks grant support, eyes expansion and biochar trials

Janet Cask and consultants from the Terra Firm and Shavano Conservation District updated the board on the county’s Payment for Ecosystem Services (PEZ/PES) pilot that launched in 2010 and expanded in 2019 with CWCB funding. Chris Hazen (Terra Firm) said staff have engaged about 20 landowners across five years and signed four contracts for 2025; he described plans for spring 2026 implementation and a new test strip program using a fungal-dominant compost extract to measure soil-health outcomes.

Dave (field lead) described the program’s deliverables: vegetative transects following NRCS protocols, laboratory soil-health testing and written reports to establish baselines so future visits can document measurable changes. Steve Hale (Shavano Conservation District) emphasized the program’s role in voluntary conservation and tying soil health to water conservation and carbon sequestration.

Star Jamieson briefed the board on a potential expansion to include Gunnison sage grouse wet‑meadow restoration; the county currently allocates $14,500 annually for that habitat program and the proposal would use some of that allocation to pay private landowners for restoration work, with one-to-two sites possible in the coming year.

Speakers said funding is the program’s key constraint. The group is pursuing CWCB funding cycles and a state SHOW (soil-health) grant; the district has also secured $75,000 from private philanthropy to buy equipment to scale compost-extract production. Staff requested that commissioners send letters of support and asked to provide talking points and a draft letter for review.

Next steps: staff and partners will apply for CWCB and SHOW funds, pursue biochar and extract-based trials in 2026, and return with grant results and a plan to scale contracts if funding is awarded.