Connecting people to nature has never been more important.
Big or small, Vermont land trusts increasingly are meeting the needs of their communities through partnerships, engagement and outreach.
That’s about 990,759 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.
Vermont land trusts are community-led and supported and protect lands and waters that help the entire state.
21,511
1,565
61
26
267
112 years old (1910)
15 years old (2007)
33 years old
Acre by acre, land trusts are helping to conserve Vermont 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 Vermont's most pressing issues.
Tackling climate change: The accredited Vermont Land Trust teaches landowners about the importance of creating a “meander belt,” a swath of undisturbed floodplain that lets the river channel move as needed. Since Hurricane Irene dumped 11 inches on the region in 2011, VLT has completed numerous “river corridor easements” to prevent shoreline armoring.
Read moreProtecting land for future generations: The accredited Stowe Land Trust owns and manages a 31-acre site that houses an inn built in the 1930s. The land trust has found ways to preserve the historic site and share it with their community.
Read moreLand Trust Alliance member land trusts, listed below, commit to adopting Land Trust Standards and Practices as their guiding principles.