2005 National Land Trust Census
Private Land Conservation in the U.S. Soars
For several decades, the Land Trust Alliance has been tracking national trends in private land conservation, with each five-year report showing dramatically more land protected than ever before. The 2005 National Land Trust Census breaks all previous records.
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Key Census Findings⇒ The total
acres conserved by local, state and national
land trusts doubled to 37 million acres in
just the past five years. This is an area 16 ½ times
the size of Yellowstone National Park. |
Americans love their land, and are meeting the challenge—individually and collectively through land trusts—to preserve the best of the American landscape, rural livelihoods and natural areas across the country. A growing corps of willing and visionary landowners are entrusting their lands to the perpetual care of land trusts, making a commitment that will extend beyond their lifetimes. This growth in virtually every region and every aspect of private land conservation attests to the professionalism and public trust accorded to the 1,667-member land trust community—today and in the future.
The land trust story
is not just about acres; it is about local people taking individual
steps to preserve the natural features that define their quality of
life. Private, voluntary land conservation is working, community
by community, across America.
Resources
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2005
National Land Trust Census Report
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Purpose of the Five-year Census
The National Land Trust Census documents the pace, volume and type of private land conservation occurring in America, along with measures of organizational development. The Census is intended to help land trust professionals and policymakers to assess the effectiveness of private, voluntary means of conservation. Whether or not private conservation is working is a critical question in an era of decreased federal and state budgets for land acquisition (although new conservation bond initiatives are stimulating conservation transactions in some areas of the country).
Among the items surveyed are:
- Number of acres privately conserved, at both the state and national levels;
- Types of conservation tools employed by local land trusts and landowners;
- Types of land conserved targeted for conservation;
- Regional growth patterns in private land conservation; and
- Human and fiscal resources of land trusts operating in the U.S.
The 2005 National Land Trust Census findings confirm the importance that Americans place on preserving treasured natural areas coast-to-coast and in their local communities.
Survey Methodology
The Land Trust Alliance collected data from January to September 2006 by surveying nearly 1,840 land conservation organizations in the United States both online and by mail. All respondents were asked to provide information on their land conservation and organizational activities as of December 31, 2005.
Of those surveyed, 173 organizations did not meet the definition of a land trust. Over 940 land trusts responded directly, a 56% response, slightly lower than in previous cycles. To ensure consistency with prior Census reports, additional data were collected by e-mail, telephone or through land trust support centers. Other data were carried over from the 2003 National Land Trust Census for the land trusts for which no new data were available.
