Land Trust Alliance

We are so grateful to Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust (CCALT) and Denver for hosting us for our third Easement Summit with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. What an incredible week of learning and growing together!

“This morning, the sun endures past dawn. I realize that it is August: the summer’s last stand.”

— Sara Baume

Image description: The sun rises over the mountains of Arizona. The mountains appear to be deep blue and purple outlines, with a pink and orange sky lighting up behind them.

Photo by , in partnership with .

The Land Trust Alliance and the Council for Inclusive Health and Disabilities have partnered with Disabled Hikers, a leading organization in the disability and outdoors space, to co-create a new grant program. The goal of this grant program is to advance accessibility, inclusion and belonging for disabled people through partnerships, relationship and trust building and co-creation of programs and services. Learn more about the 10 projects and land trusts that received funding at the link below.

Disability inclusion The Land Trust Alliance has long recognized the connection between land conservation and public health and wellness. To support land trusts to adopt inclusive practices that benefit people with disabilities, the Land Trust Alliance collaborated with the Lakeshore Foundation and the National Center o...

Openlands and Access Living have been awarded the Partnerships for Disability Access, Inclusion, and Leadership Grant 2024 from the Land Trust Alliance! By collaborating with Access Living, our project aims to enhance accessibility for individuals with disabilities on Openlands' Get Outside Map.

If you are a person with disabilities who is interested in learning more about this project, you can participate in our focus group to help make Openlands' initiatives more accessible and inclusive. Fill out the form at the bottom of our blog, and we'll keep you posted. Learn more:https://ow.ly/RmA450SNIU8

Together, we will keep gaining ground.

Land Trust Alliance: Gaining Ground Under the leadership of the Land Trust Alliance, land trusts have conserved over 60 million acres — an area larger than all the land in America’s National Pa...

Even as farms decline across the U.S., a longer growing season is bringing food security to a state that has long relied on sustenance from afar.

As temperatures rise, farms are sprouting in Alaska Even as farms decline across the US, a longer growing season is bringing food security to a state that has long relied on sustenance from afar.

The well-being of every community grows from nature. Healthy ecosystems produce streams of benefits to people, known as ecosystem services. These include clean and accessible water, clean air, food, recreational opportunities and other vital goods and services.

Simply put, nature has value. We've partnered with Earth Economics to help your land trust measure that value.

Several land trusts are already seeing the benefits of using an ecosystem services valuation tool to generate high-level estimates of the value of co-benefits generated by the ecosystems they steward. Learn more about the ESVT at https://landtrustalliance.org/resources/learn/explore/ecosystem-services-valuation-tool.

And now for a fond farewell from Andrew Bowman:

By now you may have heard the news that I’ll be stepping down from my leadership role at the Land Trust Alliance to become president and CEO at Defenders of Wildlife.

This is bittersweet, and not a decision that I made easily. It has been an incredible honor to lead the Alliance for the past eight years. I am proud of all that we have accomplished together and of the tremendous impact this organization has had on the land trust community. It has been a true pleasure working with everyone at the Alliance—they are the most dedicated and talented people.

Fortunately, I’m not leaving conservation; I’m simply occupying a different seat at the table. Defenders of Wildlife is where I started my conservation career more than 20 years ago, as legal counsel in Oregon. The role that Defenders fills—conserving species and the places they need to thrive—is vitally important to me and to the field of conservation. All of us must work together to protect wild spaces and species at risk, for their benefit as well as ours, and I look forward to continuing to champion the pivotal role of private land conservation in this essential work.

The Alliance will be in the capable hands of interim CEO Jennifer Miller Herzog, the Alliance’s current chief program officer, while the board conducts a national search for the next leader of the Alliance. My sincere thanks to all of you for your support of the Alliance and of me personally.

And a special thank you to the nation’s land trust practitioners and board members, whose commitment to conservation, communities and continuous improvement and innovation provide me with constant inspiration. Your work has never been more necessary or impactful. I look forward to witnessing and supporting all that you continue to deliver for people and wildlife and the places they need and love.

Andrew Bowman

The accredited Prickly Pear Land Trust spent decades protecting open lands and building trails in the foothills of Helena, Montana. Then in 2011, it responded to community demand for urban parks and trails.

“We do great work in the mountains,” says Mary Hollow, executive director for PPLT. “But we will be totally irrelevant in 50 years if we don’t make nature more accessible to people who don’t trail run, spend $10,000 on mountain bikes or build houses near our preserves.”

While many land trusts might have had a head-for-the-hills mindset — conserving wild lands and leaving urban greenspaces in someone else’s hands — PPLT did the opposite. The community, and the land trust, is thrilled with the result.

Read "Greenways and multiuse trails create paths for people," a feature article in our summer edition of Saving Land Magazine, to learn how land trusts are playing an important role in connecting communities.

Greenways and multiuse trails create paths for people Greenways used to be the realm of parks and rec departments or other municipal agencies. But nationwide, land trusts are becoming more and more involved in greenways and multiuse trails. And not just as amenities for the few, but as essential infrastructure for connecting communities.

Have you registered for Rally 2024 in Providence, Rhode Island yet? Rally is where people who share a passion for conservation will re-energize and inspire you.

Join us in Providence in September for a gathering packed with diverse topics to explore and great colleagues and friends to learn and share with. Rally has all of the resources you want to take your conservation skills further. There’s no better way to invest in your future.

Rally 2024: The National Land Conservation Conference Learn, connect & grow at Rally - There's no better time and no better place to invest in your future. Rally is packed with diverse topics, colleagues and friends to learn and share with, and the resources you need to take your conservation skills further. There’s no better time or place to invest ...

The Alliance is thrilled to welcome three veteran conservationists to our board of directors.

Valerie Gordon’s conservation work spans over two decades of projects focused on endangered species, water, rangeland and wildlife habitat in the U.S. and Mexico. She serves on the boards of California Rangeland Trust, Western Landowners Alliance, Partnership of Rangeland Trust and Cuenca Los Ojos, an organization dedicated to protecting, restoring and rewilding biodiversity along the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. Gordon served as the director of The Nature Conservancy Merced County Grassland’s Program, where she worked to preserve a vast vernal pool grassland in California’s Central Valley in support of endangered species conservation. She owns and operates a grass-fed, regenerative beef ranch in the eastern Sierra Nevada. She is a dog lover and an avid outdoorswoman who loves to trail run, backpack and ski with her husband and daughter.

Valerie, we are thrilled to have your expertise on our board!

July is Disability Pride Month, and if you have a story to share related to disability, chronic illness, hiking, nature or the outdoors, the organization Disabled Hikers wants to hear from you!

Sharing stories about disability and nature July is Disability Pride Month, and if you have a story to share related to disability, chronic illness, hiking, nature or the outdoors, the organization Disabled Hikers wants to hear from you!

👇Land Trust Alliance staff re-emerging from a company-wide holiday week-off from work.

The Alliance executive team surprised us all with an entire week off for the Fourth of July. Gotta love when work/life balance is prioritized at your job. We're feeling rested, rejuvenated and ready to save some land!

Photo by from our 2023 Rally: National Land Conservation Conference in Portland, Oregon. Are you joining us for Rally 2024 in Providence, Rhode Island? Learn more about Rally at the link in our bio.

We're taking a break...

Work-life balance is crucial for maintaining both physical health and mental well-being. It allows people to recharge, reconnect and ultimately increase productivity. Recognizing this, the Alliance is taking the week of the Fourth of July off to encourage employees to relax, spend time with loved ones and enjoy the natural beauty they work so hard to protect.

By taking this time off, the Land Trust Alliance hopes to inspire others to prioritize balance in their own lives, ensuring that everyone can contribute to conservation efforts with renewed energy and enthusiasm.

Happy Fourth of July from the Land Trust Alliance! Enjoy the week, recharge, and reconnect with the great outdoors! We'll see you next week!

Photo by Firefly Imageworks

Roel Lopez is one of our newest board members, joining the Alliance board of directors in spring.

Roel a leader in the field of natural resource management, currently holding the positions of director of the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute and department head for the Texas A&M Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management. With over 25 years of experience spanning academia, federal and state agencies, and private industry, Dr. Lopez has contributed to conservation of both public and private lands through his research, teaching and advocacy work. His research focuses on critical areas such as endangered and fragmented wildlife populations, the sustainability of military lands and rural land trends and demographics. Dr. Lopez is a firm believer that effective conservation strategies must involve the engagement and support of private landowners. Drawing from his extensive experience, he advocates for collaborative approaches that bridge the gap between conservation objectives and the interests of private landowners.

We're thrilled to have you on our board, Roel!

A recent project by Vital Ground, an accredited land trust that operates in the northern Rocky Mountains to conserve land for grizzly bears and other wildlife, will expand conserved habitat near the confluence of Montana’s Bull and Clark Fork rivers. The area is an important corridor for wildlife traveling between the Cabinet Mountains to the north and the Bitterroot Mountains to the south.

Montana conservation project expands wildlife corridor for grizzlies A recent project by The Vital Ground Foundation in the northern Rocky Mountains will conserve land for grizzly bears and other wildlife.

We're hiring a Northwest Program Manager!

The Northwest Program Manager is responsible for developing, managing, delivering and evaluating Alliance programs and services to strengthen and support Alliance member land trusts in Oregon, Washington and Hawaii. This position plays an important role in building and maintaining effective partnerships with state associations of land trusts and/or landscape-level collaborations in the region to advance our mutual goals. The Northwest Program Manager will be an integral member of the Alliance’s Western Division, collaborating and coordinating with program managers in the Southwest, California and the Rocky Mountains.

The nationwide salary range for this position $75,000 - $85,000. Actual salary will be commensurate with the skills, years of experience, physical location, and unique background and qualifications of the candidate.

Northwest Program Manager The Program Manager reports to the Western Division Director of Field Programs and is primarily responsible for developing, managing, delivering, and evaluating Alliance programs and services to strengthen and support Alliance member land trusts in Oregon, Washington and Hawaii.

Natural lands owned, protected, or managed by land trusts generate societal benefits including health improvements, cleaner air, improved water quality, carbon storage and biodiversity. The value of such “co-benefits” is important to consider when assessing and selecting conservation projects, stewardship strategies, carbon offset projects and other conservation activities.

We commissioned Earth Economics to develop the Ecosystem Services Valuation Tool (ESVT), a new tool for land trusts to generate high-level estimates of the value of co-benefits generated by the ecosystems they steward. Land trusts can use the tool to:

🌲 Promote and communicate the broader economic benefits of protecting ecosystems to interested parties and funders.
🌲Support applications for government funding which require reporting on project co-benefits.
🌲 Incorporate co-benefits into public sector benefit-cost analyses.
🌲 Demonstrate the broader value and integrity of NbS investing in mechanisms like voluntary carbon markets.
🌲 Prioritize conservation projects across a land trust’s portfolio.
🌲 Support policy advocacy.
🌲Provide empirical evidence for private sector collaborations or payment for ecosystems services.

This tool values 11 ecosystem services across nine ecosystem types. Learn more about the tool at https://landtrustalliance.org/resources/learn/explore/ecosystem-services-valuation-tool

Friendly reminder that you have until the end of this week to apply for an individual stipend or organizational scholarship to attend Rally 2024 in Providence, Rhode Island. Thanks to very generous donations from our supporters, we are pleased to offer organizational scholarships and individual stipends to help defray the costs and barriers to

https://alliancerally.org/scholarships-and-stipends/

Which pollinator are you?

SUMMER AT LAST!
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🏖️
😎
🌞

Image Description: Two little boys stand in ankle deep water at the Long Wharf Nature Preserve, protected by Gather New Haven. Photo by Firefly Imageworks

According to our friends at Pollinator Partnership, birds, bats, bees, butterflies, beetles, and other small mammals that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food.

Without the actions of pollinators, agricultural economies, our food supply, and surrounding landscapes would collapse. This Pollinator Week — June 17-23 — we challenge you to get involved with your local land trust to support sustainable pollination. Pollinators need us as much as we need them! 🐝🐝🐝

It's Pollinator Week! Pollinators are essential for the survival of more than 80% of flowering plants, including more than 100 crops grown in the U.S.

This spring, the Alliance welcomed three veteran conservationists to our board of directors.

First up is Kristina Ortez. Kristina Ortez is currently a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives representing the 42nd District. She served as executive director of Taos Land Trust, where she worked with elected leaders to develop legislation to protect and expand private and public lands and clean water for all New Mexicans. Ortez grew up in the San Joaquin Valley of California in a small farming town and moved to New Mexico in 2008. She lives in Taos where she is raising her two daughters. Ortez graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and completed her master’s in public administration at the University of New Mexico. Ortez has dedicated her professional career to the preservation of public lands and ensuring clean water for rural communities. She also sits on the board of the Taos Housing Partnership.

Kristina, we are thrilled to welcome you aboard!

Extra! Extra! Hot off the press! 📖

Our Summer 2024 issue of Saving Land should hit your mailboxes any day now (or you may have your hands on a fresh copy already). Inside, you'll find stories on greenways and multiuse trails, land trusts investing in infrastructure projects, two economic case studies highlight the value of land trusts’ conservation work to coastal communities in Maine and California and so much more.

Happy reading!
https://landtrustalliance.org/resources/learn/explore/saving-land-summer-2024-vol-43-no-3

“Andrew is a person who cares about people AND nature, he cares about land trusts, he cares about public lands, and he has done an amazing job moving us all forward and bringing us into the 21st century in an elegant and honorable way.”

- Chris Miller, The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) President

Congratulations to our own Andrew Bowman for receiving PEC's Conservation Leadership Award for years of leadership in the land trust community!

We're on the lookout for a new training associate! 👀

The training associate is an essential member of a three-person team. This position facilitates and conducts the registration process for all Alliance trainings, both online and in-person. In addition to customer service for registration needs, the training associate supports the team in both administrative and logistical tasks, and will work closely with the Finance, IT, Development and Communications team as well as other Alliance staff. This individual will also interact with important stakeholders such as donors, sponsors, speakers and suppliers. This individual must be available to travel up to 5 percent of time annually to provide onsite coordination and assist with other duties as assigned. This position pays $50,000-$55,000 a year.

Training Associate Reporting to the director of training, the training associate is an essential member of a three-person team and is responsible for facilitating and conducting the registration process for all Alliance trainings including online, in-person and the annual national conference (Rally).

Today's spotlight shines on the accredited Virginia Eastern Shore Land Trust. They hold 82 easements on 14,400 acres in Accomack and Northampton Counties between the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay. VESLT also holds field trips, guided hikes and art events. The biennial Paint the Shore event brings artists on to privately owned properties protected with VESLT easements.

Every other year, VESLT hosts "Paint the Shore," an event that invites community artists to connect with conserved lands. Last year, a group of 17 artists painted en plein air (meaning outside) on privately owned conservation lands protected with an easement held by VESLT and Brinkley Preserve owned by Northampton County. Paint the Shore opens access both to the artists painting on protected lands and the community viewing the artwork at the show. We love this idea and we love Virginia Eastern Shore Land Trust!

On May 24, the U.S. House Agriculture Committee passed H.R. 8467, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024, on a 33-21 bipartisan vote. The bill text reflects many of our highest priorities, including a historic investment in the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. It also includes a stand-alone Forest Conservation Easement Program with mandatory funding that will fill a critical gap in conserving working forested lands.

There is still a long road ahead before a final bill reaches President Biden's desk for signature, and we are committed to continuing to work with both the House and Senate to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill this year. Thanks to the advocacy work of land trusts and conservation communities, the House bill text reflects many of our community’s priorities.

Farm Bill Saving the Places People Love

When it comes to the climate crisis, many of us are grappling with intense feelings — anxiety, fear, despair — that are taking a mental toll. A 2022 study of 10,000 young people aged 16-25 in 10 countries found that 59% were “very” or “extremely” worried about climate change, and 45% reported that climate-related feelings diminished their daily life and functioning.

May is mental health awareness month, and employees can feel greater solidarity when organizational leaders openly encourage dialogue about responses to the climate crisis. Since climate impacts of all kinds— including psychological—often fall most heavily on those who already suffer from environmental injustice, communal conversations can help focus attention on ways to address inequities.

Holding hope: Talking together about the inner impacts of the climate crisis Engaging in dialogue about these feelings can help us process them and respond in more hopeful ways, growing our collective resolve to take meaningful action. Conversation about the emotional impacts of the climate crisis can happen in families, among friends and even in workplaces.