Land trusts are private, nonprofit organizations that preserve America’s land heritage for future generations. They have a 100-year-plus history in this country. Today there are more than 1,600 land trusts active nationwide, preserving together more than 37 million acres—that’s an area about 16 ½ times the size of Yellowstone National Park!

Land trusts work with willing sellers and donors to find economically viable ways to preserve the natural, recreational, scenic, historic or productive values of the land. In some cases, a land trust will acquire a piece of property through purchase or donation. In others, a landowner enters into a conservation agreement (also known as a conservation easement) with a land trust. This arrangement places permanent limitations on future development of the land, but the landowner continues to enjoy all other rights and uses associated with the property.

Land trusts work entirely within time-honored private property traditions of the United States. The widespread success of land trusts demonstrates the important role private citizens can play in preserving natural resources for public benefit.