2010 Land Trust Census Highlights Conservation Success
Saving land has given America the chance to know itself again. When we look into the mirror of our national identity, we can now see farms, urban gardens, historic sites, mountains and rivers—not just strip malls, bulldozers and traffic jams. Through land conservation, we give people the opportunity to taste something of what it is like to be authentically human: children rolling in the grass of an urban park; a grandfather teaching his granddaughter the quiet art of fishing; a fifth-generation farmer growing vegetables on his family’s homestead—nourishing his community with both fresh food and a farm stand where neighbors gather. We set out to save land, but, in the end, we build community, preserve beauty and instill hope.
2010 NATIONAL LAND TRUST CENSUS REPORT: A Look at Voluntary Land Conservation in America
According to the 2010 National Land Trust Census Report, in the five years from 2006 through 2010, land trusts across the United States protected 10 million acres of critical land and water resources, an average of 2 million acres each year. Land trusts have now protected twice as much land as that encumbered by national parks in the contiguous US—approximately 47 million acres.
Palmer Land Trust is at the forefront of this national conservation effort. It is one of the country’s top 25 land trusts based upon the amount of land it has protected through conservation easement. (Palmer Land Trust has protected even more land through deed restriction and fee title acquisition.) Furthermore, it is one of only two local land trusts among the top 25—the others are all state-wide, multi-state, or national conservation organizations.
Data from the census report also shows that Palmer Land Trust operates at an incredible level of efficiency. The organization functions with 30% fewer staff than land trusts with similar acreage holdings (some comparable organizations have as many as 33 full-time staff members, Palmer has five) and a larger dedicated endowment for conservation stewardship and legal defense. This endowment, which Palmer is currently trying to grow, guarantees that its conservation efforts are permanent…that the places it protects will, in fact, be protected forever and that no future challenges, legal or otherwise, will impair the public benefit its conserved lands provide. Palmer also operates according to incredibly high professional standards. It is one of only 135 land trusts across the country (there are approximately 1,700 total) to be nationally accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission.
The power behind these accomplishments is the community behind Palmer. Over its 34-year history, Palmer has benefitted from the involvement of thousands of farmers, ranchers, recreationists, scientists, businesses, and citizens working together to protect the places they love and that are important to their communities. To date the organization has protected over 70,000 acres of spectacular public open spaces, local agricultural lands, abundant wildlife habitat, and beautiful scenic areas.
Commenting on the Census Report and the effectiveness of voluntary, community-driven land trust efforts, High Country News said: “The federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, which agencies rely on to acquire valuable private lands, suffered a 38 percent cut and protected just over 500,000 acres over the last five years. During the same period, private nonprofit land trusts protected 20 times as much undeveloped land.”
