WASHINGTON, April 14, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Land Trust Alliance, a national land conservation organization working to save the places people need and love by strengthening land conservation across America, announced today its first grants to support land trusts as they integrate new technologies into their work that will help ensure conserved lands remain protected.
Offered in partnership with The Nature Conservancy in California, the $219,000 in grants to 18 land trusts will allow these nonprofit land conservation organizations to identify and implement the best solutions to monitor land in their care using tools such as satellite imagery and machine learning. Such technology would, for example, help a land trust more easily spot harmful activities, including the building of unauthorized structures or illegally harvesting trees on conserved land.
"Remote monitoring has helped stewardship teams and landowners gain new perspectives on their work, respond quickly to threats to conserved land, and work more efficiently to uphold the promise of protecting land in perpetuity," said Andrew Bowman, the Alliance's president and CEO. "This is a moment when so many are looking for ways to do more as we continue to work remotely. To that end, I am pleased to see our support for these new approaches to land stewardship grow."
Additionally, the grants provide the Alliance and TNC an opportunity to gather new data that will help identify the most effective and accessible tools for the land trust community.
"This first cycle of grantees represents the diversity of the land trust community," said Mike Sweeney, executive director of The Nature Conservancy in California. "We look forward to working with these land trusts to evaluate results of the different technologies used and promote peer-learning opportunities to engage the broader land trust community."
Recipients of the grant funding include Adirondack Land Trust in New York ($17,000), Arizona Land and Water Trust ($13,000), Blue Ridge Conservancy in North Carolina ($5,500), Eastern Sierra Land Trust in California ($10,000), Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina ($4,500), Hawaiian Islands Land Trust ($1,400), Hudson Highlands Land Trust in New York ($20,000), Hunterdon Land Trust in New Jersey ($10,000), Lower Shore Land Trust in Maryland ($15,000), Minnesota Land Trust ($8,000), Northwest Connecticut Land Conservancy ($13,800), Otsego Land Trust in New York ($9,000), Pacific Forest Trust in California ($16,000), Palmer Land Conservancy in Colorado ($17,000), Sonoma Land Trust in California ($20,000), The Vital Ground Foundation in Montana ($12,000), Upper Peninsula Land Conservancy in Michigan ($15,000) and Upper Savannah Land Trust in South Carolina ($12,000).
For more information about how any specific grant award will be used, contact the land trust.
About the Land Trust Alliance
Founded in 1982, the Land Trust Alliance is a national land conservation organization that works to save the places people need and love by strengthening land conservation across America. The Alliance represents 1,000 member land trusts supported by more than 200,000 volunteers and 4.6 million members nationwide. The Alliance is based in Washington, D.C., and operates several regional offices. More information about the Alliance is available at http://www.landtrustalliance.org.
About The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world's toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable. Working in 72 countries and territories: 38 by direct conservation impact and 34 through partners, we use a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. To learn more, visit http://www.nature.org or follow @nature_press on Twitter.
Media Contact
Joshua Lynsen, Land Trust Alliance, 202-800-2239, [email protected]
SOURCE Land Trust Alliance
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