Connecting people to nature has never been more important.
Big or small, Missouri land trusts increasingly are meeting the needs of their communities through partnerships, engagement and outreach.
That’s about 274,379 football fields!
Land trusts have already conserved 61 million acres of private land across the nation — more than all of the national parks combined. Help us conserve another 60 million acres by the end of the decade.
Together, let’s keep Gaining Ground.
California land trusts are community-led and supported and protect lands and waters that help the entire state.
3,468
3,588
25
3
138
60 years old (1962)
10 years old (2012)
31 years old
Acre by acre, land trusts are helping to conserve Missouri lands, waters and ways of life.
Disclaimer: Land trusts conserve land in many different ways and every project is unique. Category totals may change depending on how acres are reported by survey respondents to reflect the most current data and minimize double-counting. In some instances, the total may be greater than the sum of the separate categories due to organizations that provided total acres not broken down by category.
This information reflects data collected in the National Land Trust Census, the longest-running comprehensive survey of private land conservation in America. Learn more about the Census and see which land trusts participated in the 2020 National Land Trust Census.
Land trusts across the state are helping find solutions to some of Missouri's most pressing issues.
Protecting water quality: The Heartland Conservation Alliance is a member of the Urban Waters Federal Partnership that protects the nation's urban waterways. In the Kansas City metro area, the Blue River Urban Waters Federal Partnership seeks to catalyze the restoration and revitalization of the Middle Blue River.
READ MORETackling climate change: Ozark Land Trust has completed a 3,200-acre carbon offset project on its largest directly owned property. The carbon credits for the forested property were issued through the California Air Resources Board.
Read moreConserving wildlife habitat: The Missouri Prairie Foundation set a new world record at their Penn-Sylvania Prairie property — recent sampling showed 46 native plant species. The 160-acre property is also home to many grassland birds and five species of conservation concern, including the regal fritillary butterfly, prairie mole cricket and northern crawfish frog.
Read moreLand Trust Alliance member land trusts, listed below, commit to adopting Land Trust Standards and Practices as their guiding principles.