1,000 Acres in Boulder County
Soil-Water Stewardship Pilot
2026-2029+
After a decade of land stewardship in the front range, DAR is launching a multi-year, multi-partner pilot aimed at increasing water function in working lands on ~1,000 acres speckled across Boulder County. The pilot utilizes a specific set of integrated and site-specific management techniques including regenerative grazing, agroforestry, and contour terracing. Our CASCADE research program, a CSU collaboration, helps inform management decisions, provide accountability to partners, and contribute to the larger body of knowledge for land and water stewardship.
Why Water,
Why Now
Across Boulder County, degraded soils have lost their capacity to absorb precipitation. Water runs off rather than entering the ground, leaving vegetation stressed and land management reactive. Improving how soil holds water is among the most tractable strategies available to land managers and water stewards in a drying region.
Pilot Objectives
Over three years and ~1,000 acres, DAR tests whether regenerative grazing, contour terracing, and agroforestry — applied together — produce better hydrologic outcomes than any single practice achieves alone. We track infiltration, soil moisture, runoff behavior, and vegetation response to learn what integrated management can reliably do.
Learning & Accountability
CASCADE, our embedded research program with Colorado State University, documents how land responds to specific management under semi-arid conditions. Alongside this, DAR tracks ecological outcomes across all pilot properties including soil water holding capacity, organic matter accumulation, predator insect diversity, plant survival and cover, and microbial community health. Together, they hold us accountable to honest, place-based evidence.
The Potential
Projected increase in soil water-holding capacity (10-year)
On degraded soils, most precipitation evaporates before it can really sink into the soil. DAR's stewardship builds the soil's capacity to capture and hold the little moisture receive each year. Based on our existing research sites we see the potential to increase water holding capacity across the full 1,000 ac. of the Soil-Water Stewardship Pilot.
SWS Pilot Partners
The SWS Pilot connects research institutions, landowners, and funders around a shared commitment to improve hydrologic function in working lands in Boulder County.
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Research: Colorado State University and the Savory Institute provide methodological rigor and global context.
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Land: Private landholders and municipal partners contribute roughly 150 acres alongside DAR's 850 acres under direct management.
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Funders and sponsors: Philanthropic support is essential where land-based interventions generate ecological and hydrologic value that markets don't yet recognize. DAR welcomes funders who value honest methodology, long time horizons, and field-based learning.