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| Company type | Incentive |
|---|---|
| Industry | Professional Organization |
| Founded | 1990 United States |
| Headquarters | California, United States |
The American Land Conservancy was an American non-profit organization whose goal was to protect the natural environment.
American Land Conservancy was a non-profit land conservation organization dedicated to protecting America's natural heritage by conserving land for the benefit of people and wildlife. Since its founding in 1990, American Land Conservancy has conserved more than 276,000 acres (1,120 km2) of land and water resources, working farms and ranches, and wildlife habitats nationwide. The Conservancy was dissolved in 2016.
In its first 15 years, American Land Conservancy pursued projects based on the opportunities at-hand, tackling projects across the country. Their work then transitioned to the following regional landscape programs:
The organization's conservation ethic included the following principles:
Direct Purchase – American Land Conservancy worked with landowners who wish to sell or donate their land for conservation by finding a public agency or conservation buyer to own and manage the land permanently. Funding for acquisition can come from state or federal appropriations, philanthropic foundations or individuals. Sample projects include the BK Leach Memorial Conservation Area in Missouri, Crow Creek Falls in Montana, and High Meadows in Nevada.
Conservation Easement – A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. It allows the landowner to continue to own and use the land and sell it or pass it on to heirs subject to the restrictions of the easement. The American Land Conservancy often worked with a conservation partner who holds and monitors the easement. Sample projects include the Hearst Ranch in California (in conjunction with the California Rangeland Trust) and Bridgeport Valley in California, and Kaskaskia Island in Illinois.
Acquisition of Surface or Sub-surface Rights - Sometimes the surface of a landscape is protected, but a company or individual owns the assets on top (timber), or underneath the surface (mining, water, natural gas). The American Land Conservancy acquired these rights to prevent development and habitat destruction in pivotal landscapes. Sample projects include Bodie State Historic Park in California, Denali National Park in Alaska, and Valley Grande in New Mexico.
The genesis of American Land Conservancy can be traced to founder Harriet Burgess's first trip down the Grand Canyon. She found the trip guide, Martin Litton, inspiring.[ citation needed ]
Many years later, Burgess and Litton started the American Land Conservancy in order to pursue the protection of another canyon – Topanga Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California.
The American Land Conservancy's mission was to fill a niche in the land preservation movement, taking on projects too large for purchase by local land trusts and too complicated and high-risk for larger, national land trusts. Some of the American Land Conservancy's projects included the acquisition of tens of thousands of acres for the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in California and Nevada, large-scale wetlands restoration along the Mississippi River, and conservation of the 82,000-acre (330 km2) Hearst Ranch on the California Central Coast.
The organization was dissolved in 2016. [1] Harriet Burgess had retired eight years earlier, and without succession planning sufficient to fill her shoes, the organization had foundered. [2]
In the United States, a conservation easement is a power invested in a qualified land conservation organization called a "land trust", or a governmental entity to constrain, as to a specified land area, the exercise of rights otherwise held by a landowner so as to achieve certain conservation purposes. It is an interest in real property established by agreement between a landowner and land trust or unit of government. The conservation easement "runs with the land", meaning it is applicable to both present and future owners of the land. The grant of conservation easement, as with any real property interest, is part of the chain of title for the property and is normally recorded in local land records.
Land trusts are nonprofit organizations which own and manage land, and sometimes waters. There are three common types of land trust, distinguished from one another by the ways in which they are legally structured and by the purposes for which they are organized and operated:
The Montana Land Reliance (MLR) is a nonprofit land trust established to acquire and manage conservation easements in the State of Montana. Headquartered in Helena, Montana, the organization holds 897 easements on 1,137,062 acres of private property across the state. It is the largest land trust in the State of Montana, the largest state-based land trust in the United States, and is accredited by the Land Trust Alliance.
The Northeast Wilderness Trust is a non-profit conservation organization based in Montpelier, Vermont, working to preserve and restore forest landscapes in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Its mission is to conserve forever-wild landscapes for nature and people. It was founded in 2002.
According to the California Protected Areas Database (CPAD), in the state of California, United States, there are over 14,000 inventoried protected areas administered by public agencies and non-profits. In addition, there are private conservation areas and other easements. They include almost one-third of California's scenic coastline, including coastal wetlands, estuaries, beaches, and dune systems. The California State Parks system alone has 270 units and covers 1.3 million acres (5,300 km2), with over 280 miles (450 km) of coastline, 625 miles (1,006 km) of lake and river frontage, nearly 18,000 campsites, and 3,000 miles (5,000 km) of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails.
Conserving Carolina is a non-profit conservation organization working to preserve water and land resources in Western North Carolina. Conserving Carolina was created in July 2017, from a merger of two previously separate organizations, Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy and Pacolet Area Conservancy. The combined organization maintains a primary office in Hendersonville, North Carolina, and a regional office in Columbus, North Carolina.
The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy (GTRLC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Traverse City, Michigan. It is an independent organization with its own by-laws, policies, board, staff, and budget. The organization is funded by private donors as well as local, state, and national foundations. The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy has a volunteer Board of Directors and a professional year-round, full-time professional staff.
California Rangeland Trust is a conservation nonprofit organization founded in 1998. The Rangeland Trust claims to be the largest land trust in California, having conserved over 371,000 acres (1,500 km2) of rangeland on 90 ranches across 26 counties.
The Conservation Fund is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a dual charter to pursue environmental preservation and economic development. From 2008–2018, it has placed more than 500,000 acres under conservation management through a program whose goal is to purchase and permanently protect working forests. Since its founding in 1985, the organization has protected land and water in all 50 states, including parks, historic battlefields, and wild areas. The Fund works with community and government leaders, businesses, landowners, conservation nonprofits and other partners to integrate economic and environmental objectives.
The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County (LCSLO) is a non-profit land trust organization that has been operating in San Luis Obispo County, California since 1984. The LCSLO is dedicated to the voluntary and collaborative preservation and improvement of lands that hold significant scenic, agricultural, habitat, and cultural values. Their work aims to benefit both the local community and wildlife that depends on these lands.
The Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy (PVPLC) is a non-profit organization that is based on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in southwestern Los Angeles County, California.
The Hearst Ranch is composed of two cattle ranches in central California. The best known is the original Hearst Ranch, which surrounds Hearst Castle and comprises about 80,000 acres (320 km2). George Hearst (1820–1891) bought over 30,000 acres (120 km2) of Rancho Piedra Blanca, an 1840 Mexican land grant, in the late 19th century. He also bought most of Rancho San Simeon, and part of Rancho Santa Rosa, two other adjacent land grants.
The San Luis Valley Conservation Area is a proposed "landscape scale" National Conservation Area in south-central Colorado and far northern New Mexico which would be administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:
Operating as a nonprofit environmental land trust, The Vital Ground Foundation protects and restores North America's grizzly bear populations by conserving wildlife habitat. Founded in 1990, Vital Ground operates in the belief that the grizzly bear, an umbrella species, is nature's barometer of a healthy and complete ecosystem, and that conserving grizzly bears and their habitat is key to ensuring diverse and healthy landscapes.
The Columbia Land Conservancy is an environmental nonprofit organization and land trust located in Columbia County, New York, in the greater Hudson Valley. Its mission is to conserve farmland, forests, wildlife habitat, and rural character of Columbia County, connecting people to the land.
The Land Trust for Tennessee is an non-profit conservation organization working to protect Tennessee's natural, scenic, and historic landscapes and sites. Since 1999, The Land Trust has conserved more than 135,000 acres (550 km2) of land across 65-plus Tennessee counties.
Pacific Forest Trust is an accredited non-profit conservation land trust that advances forest conservation and stewardship solutions. Its mission is to sustain America's forests for their public benefits of wood, water, wildlife, and people's wellbeing, in cooperation with landowners and communities.
The Big Sur Land Trust is a private 501(c)(3) non-profit located in Monterey, California, that has played an instrumental role in preserving land in California's Big Sur and Central Coast regions. The trust was the first to conceive of and use the "conservation buyer" method in 1989 by partnering with government and developers to offer tax benefits as an inducement to sell land at below-market rates. Since 1978, with the support of donors, funders and partners, it has conserved over 40,000 acres through conservation easements, acquisition and transfer of land to state, county and city agencies. It has placed conservation easements on 7,000 acres and has retained ownership of over 4,000 acres.
The Deschutes Land Trust is a private charitable conservation organization focused on preserving natural landscapes and rivers in the Deschutes River Basin in Oregon, US. The Trust was formed in 1995, and since then has grown to conserve more than 7,000 hectares of land in over 17 preserves.
