Conservation Finance Network Boot Camp 2025

In Brief

The 20th annual Conservation Finance Boot Camp, hosted at the Yale School of the Environment in partnership with the Yale Center for Business and the Environment and with sponsorshipsupport from the Connecticut Green Bank,Connecticut Green Bank, brought together 39 conservation practitioners to learn from 31 expert speakers and peers about conservation finance. Attendees shared strategies and case studies demonstrating how to manage risk, partner, and advance land and water conservation.

Key themes included the importance of partnerships; bridge financing; community-centered collaboration; state, local, and private funding; and blending philanthropic, public and private investment. .

Sessions highlighted real-world examples featuring regenerative agriculture, partnerships with water utilities, mitigation banking, carbon finance, and indigenous land return. Featured conservation finance tools included environmental impact bonds, outcomes-based financing, green banks, state revolving funds, and philanthropic program-related investments.

Leverage isn’t just financial—it’s relational. Great projects come from combining deep community ties with strong capital stacks.

The Boot Camp agenda can be found here, and key concepts organized by day here.

From June 2–6, 2025, the Conservation Finance Network hosted its 20th annual Conservation Finance Boot Camp in New Haven, Connecticut. The Boot Camp brought together a diverse group of attendees, who hailed from 21 states and multiple sectors (non-profit, state agency, for-profit, and more) to explore the present and future of conservation finance and learn about innovative tools and practices.

Public Funding

Against a backdrop of reduced federal conservation support and shifting political priorities, participants and speakers engaged with urgency and creativity. Brent Keith, from the Nature Conservancy’s Federal Relations Team, noted that funding for many federal conservation programs remains in flux until Congress passes an FY26 budget, though is likely to decline significantly from recent years. With much of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) dollars and other federal conservation funding threatened or gone, proposed cuts of up to 30% for many federal land management agencies, potential sales of federal land, and potential changes to federal environmental statutes, a focus of many sessions was where else might the conservation community look for funding, while maintaining protections for existing conservation lands.

Will Abberger from Trust for Public Land (TPL) emphasized the importance of state and local funding for conservation, and described TPL’s work to raise funding for conservation through ballot measures. Over time, federal dollars have accounted for ~22% of total conservation funding sources—significant but not dominant. Though federal sources have recently made up more like 50% of conservation funding, we are likely to return to the lower historical mean. However, support for conservation on a local level remains very strong: Of the 23 state and local ballot initiatives TPL supported in the 2024 general election, 23 passed, in both red and blue counties. Will emphasized that support for conservation remains bipartisan, citing a recent report that showed that 77% of Americans want more public lands.

Private Capital, Blended Finance, and Intermediaries

Sessions throughout the week explored how private, public, and philanthropic capital can work together to support conservation efforts. Danielle Levoit from the Doris Duke Foundation highlighted the distinction between the “funding stack” and the “leverage stack”—a helpful framing that recognizes a deal isn’t just about how much capital is available, but how aligned and catalytic that capital is, and she illustrated how philanthropy can achieve both. This theme resurfaced throughout the week, with speakers consistently affirming the importance of partnership and collaboration in conservation finance.

Sessions on blended finance unpacked the role of intermediaries in drawing private capital in for conservation efforts. Zach Knight from Blue Forest Conservation described their Forest Resilience Bond (FRB), which provides up-front, low-cost private capital to finance forest management and wildfire risk reduction on the Yuba National Forest in New Mexico. They have since launched multiple Forest Resilience Bonds to support restoration of forestland and watersheds across the Western US. Harry Guinness of New Leaf Climate Partners discussed the role of Nature Development Finance Institutions (NDFIs) in mobilizing catalytic capital for restoration and conservation in underserved rural communities, such as through investing in new seedling nurseries. Blended finance can meld philanthropic and private dollars, opening up new investment opportunities.

A number of sessions touched specifically on the role private capital can play in advancing conservation outcomes. Lunchtime speaker Howard Fischer, the founder of Gratitude Railroad, an impact investing fund focused on planetary health, social well-being, and intersectional innovation, spoke about his own journey towards impact, and the importance of impact investing for harnessing private capital towards systemic change. Regenerative agriculture is another area where private investment plays an important role. Dominick Grant from Dirt Capital Partners and Paul McMahon from Sustainable Land Management led a session exploring how patient, values-driven capital can support farmers in transitioning to more resilient and ecologically sound practices while maintaining productivity and providing land access. Dirt Capital’s model centers on financing for land acquisition and offering technical support for new and beginning farmers, with the goal of transferring ownership to the farmer over time. Dominick described a case study from New Lebanon, NY, where Dirt Capital collaborated with a land trust to purchase a property and structure an arrangement in which farmers could retain access to working land and housing while building financial equity and preserving high-value forestland.

Paul shared how Sustainable Land Management invests in organic conversion, offering flexible leases and supporting infrastructure for farmers. Their approach allows farmers to take the time to build soil health and sustainable infrastructure. The firm’s average farmer is 34 years old—underscoring the appetite for regenerative practices among the next generation of farmers, and the role of conservation finance in supporting intergenerational land access. These types of long-term and conservation-oriented investment vehicles can tolerate more risk, deepen agricultural resilience, and support healthier ecosystems.

Tee Thomas from Quantified Ventures discussed outcomes-based financing and environmental impact bonds, demonstrating how results-based investments, community transparency, outcome evaluation reports and post-project reports work synergistically to provide opportunities for private investment in resilient public infrastructure. She demonstrated this theme with a series of high-impact examples, including Environmental Impact Bonds tied to a program that reduces stormwater through green infrastructure in Washington, D.C., and The Bailey’s Trail System in Athens, Ohio—which is using outdoor recreation to spur rural economic prosperity.

Green banks were also highlighted as key institutions driving financing for sustainability. Leigh Whelpton from The Connecticut Green Bank and Laura Mondragon from the Montgomery County Green Bank both presented their approaches to mobilizing capital for natural infrastructure and climate resilience. Through mechanisms like Resiliency Improvement Districts and ratepayer-backed credit enhancements, these institutions are helping local governments and nonprofits take on capital projects that might otherwise be out of reach.

Interim Finance

Sessions emphasized the importance of bridge financing mechanisms and interim finance throughout the week. Reggie Hall and Michelle Heaton from LegacyWorks Group described interim finance solutions to the mismatch between when funding is awarded and when it’s needed on the ground, illustrating how modest bridge loans can prevent project-breaking implementation delays. The Conservation Loan Collaborative (CLC), coordinated by LegacyWorks Group, offers a model for shared back-office infrastructure for small and mid-sized organizations seeking to set up revolving funds or loan programs.

Multi-Benefit Projects

Throughout the week, case studies illustrated how conservation finance is increasingly centered on blending multiple sources of funding. Paul Hunt from the Portland Water Authority in Maine described how the Sebago Clean Waters collaboration has conserved 17% of the watershed (up from 7% in 2000) that supplies Portland’s water—averting the need for a $400 million water filtration plant. The collaboration, which involves 11 partners (including breweries, local land trusts, and national environmental nonprofits), utilizes public-private partnerships to blend land protection with clean water and local economic development. As Paul said, “The forest is the filtration.”

Matt Singer from the Galveston Bay Foundation described the Chocolate Bay Project, where the organization partnered with Lyme Timber on a multi-benefit project that included a mitigation bank, wetland restoration, carbon credit sales, and hunter access. Matt discussed how the collaboration with Lyme unlocked new possibilities for the organization, and the Chocolate Bay Project is exemplary as a case study that shows how partnerships can attract diverse funding sources to deliver on ecological, financial, and community benefits.

Land return was another key topic discussed. In Maine, TPL is co-leading the Wáhsehtəkʷ land return to the Penobscot Nation. As Rodger Krussman from TPL described, it is one of the largest non-profit-to-Tribe land return projects in U.S. history, enabled by a capital stack including philanthropic loans, federal funding, and a partnership for a co-managed visitor center with the National Park Service.

Stewardship and the Long Game

Another perennial topic conservation challenge is identifying funding for long-term stewardship. Stewardship can be a persistent challenge for conservation organizations but is critical to the conservation promise of perpetuity. As we conserve more land, practitioners must find innovative ways to ensure the long-term monitoring of easements and stewardship of protected lands. Joe Rizzo from Sonoma Land Trust described his organization’s robust stewardship funding strategy, which includes a blend of legally restricted permanent and quasi-endowments, reserve funds, and property-specific stewardship accounts.

At the federal level, Liz Petruska of the Forest Service shared updates on strategies, including the use of dedicated funds, to cover the cost of easement monitoring of lands conserved with funding from the Forest Legacy Program. Bethany Olmstead of The Conservation Fund emphasized the value of embedding stewardship funds into acquisition funding, and of offering interim stewardship as a service when conveying land to under-resourced public agencies.

Celebrating the 20th Boot Camp

On the final day of the Boot Camp, CFN recognized the three founders of the Conservation Finance Network. Staff gave plaques to Peter Stein, Brad Gentry, and Story Clark (in absentia), thanking them for envisioning the very first Boot Camp and making it what it has become today.

CFN co-founders Brad Gentry and Peter Stein (and Story Clark, in absentia) were awarded plaques recognizing their vision and commitment to the Conservation Finance Network.

Final Takeaways

The 2025 Boot Camp underscored that conservation finance is not a niche field—it’s a dynamic, multi-disciplinary and collaborative ecosystem. As one attendee put it, “this isn’t your grandfather’s conservation finance.” Today’s work is about building systems and partnerships, innovating new financial tools and accountability mechanisms, and fostering trust across siloes.

In a time of political polarization, resilience can be a winning message. Conservationists need to be sure to listen to the range of community perspectives on their work, and find opportunities to build new coalitions. Framing conservation through the lens of risk reduction, public infrastructure, and community vitality can expand coalitions, open doors, and unlock robust funding opportunities.

And relationships continue to be at the core of the work.

The 20th Conservation Finance Boot Camp embodied this, bringing together practitioners from disparate geographies and backgrounds for an intense week of shared learning and relationship building. In the final session, attendees remarked on how powerful the chance to break bread together in person and hear about each other’s work was—and how excited they are to stay in touch. Highlighting a key theme of the week—that multi-benefit projects can unlock robust funding opportunities- a participant said “The magic of conservation finance is that a tree is valuable for defense, for water quality, for flood resilience, for carbon, and for reforestation.”