June 5, 2007

Twenty-three Land Conservation Organizations Selected for National Accreditation Pilot Program

(Saratoga Springs, NY) – Twenty-three land conservation organizations from 16 states have been selected to participate in a second round of testing of a new national accreditation program. The program will recognize land conservation organizations, also known as land trusts, that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. The nation’s nearly 1,700 land trusts have protected over 11.9 million acres of land.

“We are extremely grateful to the land trusts that volunteered to demonstrate publicly their commitment to high standards and to serve the land conservation community and the American public by shaping this new program,” said Tammara Van Ryn, executive director of the Land Trust Accreditation Commission.

The Commission is an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance and was created in 2006 to operate the new accreditation program. “In an era when the public is increasingly demanding accountability from government and nonprofit organizations, independent land trust accreditation will help provide the assurance of quality and permanence of land conservation the public is looking for,” Van Ryn said.

The accreditation program will be tested in 2007 in two application rounds with a total of 44 organizations. Accreditation will be available to interested organizations starting in 2008. At that time, land trusts can join the ranks of other nonprofit organizations that gain professional recognition through accreditation, such as museums, zoos, aquariums, colleges and hospitals. Accredited land trusts will be able to display a seal indicating to the public that they meet national standards for excellence, uphold the public trust and ensure that conservation efforts are permanent.

Boxford Open Land Trust, located in Massachusetts, is one of the land trusts participating in the pilot program. “Our land trust is eager to earn the accreditation seal when it becomes available so we can visibly demonstrate our commitment to high standards and permanent land protection,” said Vice President Natasha Grigg.

Land trusts volunteered to be part of the program, and those selected to participate represent a diversity of land trust sizes, geographic locations and types of land protected.

Van Ryn emphasized, “The land trusts participating in the pilot program will help the Commission improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the program before it goes nationwide next year.”

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The Land Trust Accreditation Commission will award the accreditation seal to community institutions that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. The Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance established in 2006, is governed by a volunteer board of diverse land conservation and nonprofit management experts from around the country. For more information please visit www.landtrustaccreditation.org.

*Second round participant

For more information on the pilot program, please visit www.lta.org/accreditation/pilot.htm.