The Land Trust Alliance: Newsroom - Land Trust Successes

Land Trusts Succeed Everyday

Land trusts across the country are saving the face of America as they protect and steward land. Landowners can permanently protect the conservation value of their land in several ways. They can donate outright or bequeath land to a land trust. They can donate a conservation easement - a legal agreement that permanently protects open space while leaving it in private ownership. Among other means of protecting land, landowners can sell open space land to land trusts in a bargain sale, below market value.

Across the country, land trusts are succeeding in saving the vistas, great and small, that make communities unique. Follow the links listed below to read just a few success stories organized by region.

Mid-Atlantic - Midwest - Northeast - Northwest - Southeast - Southwest - Pacific

	A Big Sur State of Mind (Pacific) –Glen Deven Ranch, an 860-acre mixed use property above Highway 1 in the hills of Big Sur, is a striking example of the beauty, simplicity and raw power of the area. (posted 9/5/07)
	GIS Decision-Support System Helps Land Trust Focus its Conservation Efforts (Mid-Atlantic) – The New River Land Trust (NRLT) in Blacksburg has a powerful new tool to further its mission to conserve farmland, forests, open spaces and historic places in Virginia’s New River region. The implementation of a newly developed GIS Decision-Support System has enabled the land trust to gain a whole landscape perspective, and to be highly strategic in its approach to protecting the natural beauty and cultural heritage of southwest Virginia. (posted 2/14/07)
	Landowners protect lands in Black Mountains (Southeast) – Burnsville landowners contributed one of the most valuable individual conservation easement donations in North Carolina history at the end of 2006. Charles and Mary Edwards donated a 1,300-acre conservation easement worth $10 million in the Black Mountains in Yancey County. The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy and Catawba Lands Conservancy partnered for the first time to protect this scenic and ecologically valuable tract of land. (posted 1/24/07)
	Back to Home Waters' Strategic Success (Northwest) – When we last covered the Deschutes Basin Land Trust in 2003, they had recently completed a purchase of the Metolius Preserve, a 1,240-acre tract of critically important forest habitat. More recently, they protected the stunning 1,120 acre Rimrock Ranch. All of this is part of their successful Back to Home Waters campaign that originated in 2000.
	Working Together for a Greener Boston (Northeast) – The Trustees of Reservations, the nation’s oldest regional land trust, are based in Massachusetts but have never had a Boston presence…until now! They recently announced a permanent affiliation with the Boston Natural Areas Network.(posted 11/10/06)
	Strategic Planning a Boon for an Oklahoma Land Trust (Southwest) – One of only a handful of land trusts in Oklahoma, Land Legacy has filled an important role since its inception in 2003. During its first two years, Land Legacy accepted most projects that were offered to it with a loose focus on agricultural soil conservation and urban green spaces. But as property prices increased, the organization decided to identify priorities to increase its effectiveness. Now the land trust is blazing toward success with a new strategic plan. (posted 9/5/06)
	A Small Land Trust Forges a Relationship (Midwest) – Mary Bradford-White, President of the Barrington Hills Conservation Trust in Illinois writes about her small land trust's success with forging a relationship with her community and her representatives. (posted 7/10/06)