Three finalists have been named for the prestigious 2018 Kansas Leopold Conservation Award.

Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the award recognizes those who inspire others with their dedication to land, water and wildlife habitat management on private, working land.

In Kansas the $10,000 award is presented annually by Sand County Foundation, Kansas Association of Conservation Districts and the Ranchland Trust of Kansas.

The finalists are:

• Alexander Ranch in Sun City. Ted and Brian Alexander own a 7,000-acre ranch in the Red Hills. The ranch has thrived by using a managed-intensive rotational grazing system. The Alexanders have transformed their ranch’s landscape by clearing invasive Eastern Red Cedar trees. In the process, they are increasing native plant and wildlife diversity, such as restoring habitat for lesser prairie chickens.

• Hoeme Family Farm and Ranch in Scott City. Stacy Hoeme and his son, Chaston, farm about 10,000 tillable acres and own and operate a 9,000-acre native grass ranch. They have long been on the cutting edge of land-friendly farming practices that help their profits as well as wildlife and the environment. Their beef cattle are rotationally grazed on land that also serves as habitat for lesser prairie chickens.

• Z Bar Ranch in Lake City. Managed by Keith and Eva Yearout and owned by Turner Enterprises, this ranch of more than 42,000 acres was purchased for bison production and natural resource conservation in 2000. Z Bar Ranch is managed under a philosophy of economic sustainability and ecological sensitivity, with a focus on native species and their habitats. The ranch raises grass forage to sustain a 1,200-head bison herd.

The Kansas Leopold Conservation Award will be presented Nov. 19 at the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts’ Annual Convention in Wichita. The award recipient will receive $10,000 and a crystal depicting Aldo Leopold.

"Kansas Association of Conservation Districts is excited to recognize these outstanding landowners who are committed to conservation on their land," says Dan Meyerhoff, KACD executive director. "We are proud to partner with Sand County Foundation and the Ranchland Trust of Kansas to give these families the recognition they deserve."

"The Ranchland Trust of Kansas would like to congratulate this year’s finalists for the 2018 Leopold Award. Sharing their stewardship successes is critical to spreading the word about how sound conservation practices are good for business," says Cade Rensink, RTK chairman.

The 2017 recipient was Lazy VJ Farms of Fredonia.

The Leopold Conservation Award in Kansas is made possible thanks to the generous support of Ducks Unlimited, ITC Great Plains, Westar Energy, Clean Line Energy Partners, Kansas Forest Service, Kansas Department of Agriculture (Division of Conservation), Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, USDA NRCS Kansas, and The Nature Conservancy.

In his influential 1949 book, A Sand County Almanac, Leopold called for an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage, which he called "an evolutionary possibility and an ecological necessity."

Sand County Foundation, the nation’s leading voice for conservation of private land, presents the Leopold Conservation Award to private landowners in 14 states for extraordinary achievement in voluntary conservation. For more information, visit leopoldconservationaward.org.

Source: Kansas Association of Conservation Districts