About Land Trusts

What is a Land Trust?

A Land Trust is a non-profit, volunteer organization that works with landowners and local groups to protect and preserve the natural environment through land conservancy. Land Trusts protect and preserve the natural environment by using conservation easements, mutual covenants, land purchases, donations, and volunteer efforts to permanently protect Wisconsin's natural land and open spaces, which is increasingly threatened by urban sprawl and development.

The concept of a Land Trust is not new, as some Land Trusts are over 100 years old. There are are over 1300 land trusts nationwide, and the list is growing as land trusts are the fastest growing conservation movement in the United States. Wisconsin itself has more than 50 active land trusts that preserve, protect and manage over 100,000 acres of private Wisconsin land. These land trust organizations range from small conservation groups operated by volunteers to large land trusts managed by a professional staff. In either case, their common objectives are to preserve land that has significant ecological, scenic, recreational, agricultural, cultural or historic value for today's generation, as well as tomorrow's.

Who is a Land Trust?

Land Trusts are comprised of people who understand the need to protect and preserve today’s land. These volunteers are not a group of radical environmentalists, rather an organization of people with varying backgrounds that recognize the need to set aside and protect some of the land and nature that we all enjoy.

Land trust volunteers bring a variety of skills to the table. Their backgrounds consist of law, real estate, education, communications, fundraising, management, conservation, biology, and environmental expertise. Together, these volunteers combine efforts as a nonprofit organization to achieve their goals in protecting natural resources and preserving our natural heritage. In some cases, the most committed people behind a land trust are the landowners themselves. They care about protecting their land and want to leave a legacy for future generations and they know that participation in a land trust is a key to securing that legacy.

When landowners involve the Land Trust in permanently preserving their property, not only do the donor landowners gain their objective of a protected and conserved environment, but every neighboring landowner gains as well.

Below is a five-part series of articles that provide more information about Land Trusts, how they work, and what benefits there are to the property owners as well as the general public.

The History Of The Land Trust Movement and CWRLT (Part 5 of 5)

Tax Benefits Of Working With The CWRLT (Part 4 of 5)

Conservation Easements (Part 3 of 5)

Conservation Options Available To Landowners (Part 2 of 5)

Ecological benefits of land preservation in the Couderay Watershed area (Part 1 of 5)