Sand County Foundation is a non-profit private land conservation organization located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1965, its work is inspired by world-renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold’s land ethic.

Mission

To advance the use of ethical and scientifically sound land management practices and partnerships for the benefit of people and their rural landscapes.^[1]

Programs

Leopold Conservation Award

The Leopold Conservation Award of $10,000 and a crystal award recognizes private landowners who practice responsible land stewardship and management.^[2] Started in 2003, this program has expanded to 24 states as of 2022 ^[2] including California,^[3] Colorado,^[4] Kansas,^[5] Kentucky,^[6] Missouri,^[7] Nebraska,^[8] North Dakota,^[9] Oklahoma,^[10] South Dakota,^[11] Texas,^[12] Utah,^[13] Wisconsin,^[14] and Wyoming^[15]

Agricultural Conservation

The Agricultural Incentives Program is composed of various projects throughout the midwest focused on reducing nutrient runoff associated with agriculture. The program emphasizes watershed-scale projects and works with the agricultural community on research based solutions to address nutrient runoff.

Previous Projects

Examples of projects the Foundation has undertaken:

• The Coastal Louisiana Restoration received the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Gulf Guardian Award in the Civic/Non-profit category.^[16]
• Beginning in 1999, Sand County Foundation became involved in the restoration of Wisconsin's Baraboo River. The restoration project removed dams to restore the flow of the river.^{[17][full citation needed][18]}
• The Cooperative Sagebrush Initiative began in 2006 and concluded in 2013.^[19] The project united western land users to conserve and restore the sagebrush ecosystem across portions of 11 western states.