A land trust is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the permanent protection of natural areas through voluntary means. Land trusts work closely with landowners using tools such as conservation easements, land donations, purchases, and estate planning to safeguard open spaces and critical habitats from development and sprawl. These organizations help preserve America’s land heritage without relying solely on government funding.
The Calusa Land Trust is a local, all-volunteer, not-for-profit land trust serving the Pine Island region. We are committed to acquiring and protecting natural lands to preserve the unique quality of life that makes our area so special, for both people and wildlife. Our members include individuals, families, and businesses who contribute their time, talent, financial support, and even land to protect our irreplaceable natural resources.
As a subscriber to the Land Trust Alliance’s Standards and Practices, the Calusa Land Trust operates with integrity and transparency. We do not engage in political activity or lobbying, nor do we take positions on zoning or regulatory issues. Instead, we represent a community-driven effort, people putting their time and money where their hearts are, to make a lasting difference for the environment.
How can individuals work with land trusts to protect their land?
Land trusts are experts at helping landowners find ways to protect their land in the face of ever-growing development pressure. They may protect land through donation and purchase, by working with landowners who wish to donate or sell conservation easements (permanent deed restrictions that prevent harmful land use), or by devising other plans for preserving open space.
What kind of land do they protect?
Land trusts protect open space of all kinds – wetlands, wildlife habitat, ranches, shorelines, forests, scenic views, farms, watersheds, historic estates, and recreational areas – land of every size and type that has conservation, historic, scenic, or other value as open space.
When did land trusts start?
The first land trust was founded more than 100 years ago in New England, the region that still boasts more than a third of the nation’s land trusts. The first American conservation easement, which permanently limits development of land, was written in the late 1880s to protect parkways in and around Boston and designed by the renowned landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmstead, Sr. Conservation easements, now the most popular means to protect land, came into widespread use after the Tax Reform Act of 1976 explicitly recognized them as tax deductible donations.
How many land trusts are there?
There are currently more than 1,700 land trusts in America, 128 percent more than in 1988.
Are land trusts successful?
Absolutely. Local and regional land trusts have protected approximately 4.7 million acres of wetlands, wildlife habitat, ranches and farms, shorelines, forests, recreation land and other property of ecological significance. Indeed, the number of local land trusts has grown phenomenally, from 743 in 1985 to more than 1,700 today. Land trusts operate in every state as well as in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
For further information visit Land Trust Alliance
