Michael Scisco | Conservation Director

wave

michael sciscoMichael is a trusted expert contractor that manages our land conservation program. He has spent over 15 years in the non-profit land conservation industry with another 10 years working as a consultant to private landowners for conservation and natural resource management strategies.

Michael is a licensed real estate professional with over 12 years’ experience transacting farm, ranch, and conservation lands. In addition to his work in land conservation and real estate, he also has nearly 20 years’ experience in geospatial technologies with an emphasis on land and community planning. He has worked to conserve directly and in partnership over 200,000 acres of land in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and North Carolina.

Michael has direct experience in conservation funding and planning for parks, greenspaces, green infrastructure, residential developments, large estate properties, and landscape scale conservation efforts. Through his conservation work, he has secured well over $200M in funding for conservation and transacted over $500M in land and other real estate. Through his geospatial work, he has produced thousands of mapping and design assets over his professional career. Michael focuses on creating information that is accurate, effective, and useful over time and is inspired by developing content and tools that enable people to become more engaged and informed. Examples include helping design green infrastructure planning for the Hill Country of Texas and discovering affordable housing opportunities in Los Angeles County.

Michael also gives back to his community and currently serves as Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the New Mexico Land Conservancy and is a Board Member of the City of Albuquerque Open Space Advisory Board.

Michael received a Graduate Certificate in GIS from Portland State University in Portland, Oregon and a B.S. in Environmental Science from Western Washington University, Huxley College of the Environment in Bellingham, Washington. Michael also holds a second-degree black belt in Shoshin Ryu Martial arts and is an avid tennis player. Michael hails from rural Arizona and Eastern Washington State.  He and his wife currently live in beautiful Albuquerque, New Mexico.

working lands conservation easement land trust

Michael Scisco, October 2024

Working Lands & Conservation

Working lands conservation is a practice aimed at conserving natural resources and biodiversity while also sustaining productive agricultural or forestry activities and operations. It involves integrating conservation easements into working...

zunino ranch nevada sage grouse species mitigation bank

Michael Scisco, October 2024

Zunino Ranch Mitigation Bank

Total Acres 338 Project Year 2024 Located in Elko County Nevada Zunino Ranch Conservation Credit System Project is part of the Sagebrush Ecosystem Program (SEP) in Nevada. The SEP was legislatively established in 2013 and worked to develop ...

value of natural capital to the economy by sam warnock

Sam Warnock, October 2024

Natural Capital and Its Value to the Economy

When you think of capital, you probably think of money or investments. But at its core, capital is anything that: Stores or confers value Generates benefits Grows in value over time We’re all familiar with financial capital—the money and re...

working lands conservation mitigation

Michael Scisco, October 2024

Working Lands & Mitigation

At first glance, mitigation and working lands may not seem compatible. People might believe that conducting stream and wetland mitigation work adjacent to working lands will reduce or limit agricultural production. If planned correctly, mit...