Land Trust Alliance Celebrates 25 Years of Easements with Natural Resources Conservation Service
PITTSBURGH (PRWEB) October 09, 2018 -- The Land Trust Alliance, a national land conservation organization working to save the places people need and love by strengthening land conservation across America, is celebrating this week its long partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
In the past 25 years, the NRCS has enrolled some 22,000 easements covering more than 4.5 million acres. Additionally, the agency and partners have invested $4.3 billion in financial and technical assistance. In many cases, these voluntary easements were finished in partnership with local land trusts, nonprofit organizations conserving land for public benefit. The Alliance represents 1,000 member land trusts.
“The USDA and the NRCS specifically are two crucial allies that the land trust community has come to rely on as we work together to conserve the land that America needs and loves,” said Wendy Jackson, the Alliance’s executive vice president. “We are partners in keeping working lands in family hands – and we have helped each other achieve so much more than either of us could have done alone. Our community is so very fortunate to have such good partners in the USDA and NRCS.”
“Because of groups like the Land Trust Alliance, we’re able to help America’s farmers keep working lands working for future generations,” said NRCS Acting Chief Leonard Jordan. “Together, we’re helping ensure the long-term sustainability of American agriculture. We’re grateful for the Alliance and farmers stepping up to the plate to be part of the solution for the past 25 years, and we want to continue this work into the future.”
This celebration will take center stage at Rally 2018: The National Land Conservation Conference when it begins Oct. 11 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. The conference’s 1,600 attendees will be the first to see videos recognizing the good impact NRCS and land trusts have had on the lives of many Americans. Additionally, Jordan is scheduled to speak following remarks from Jackson that celebrate the public-private partnership.
Featuring more than 130 educational sessions, Rally 2018 is the nation’s largest annual gathering of land conservation professionals. Approximately 1,600 people in Pittsburgh will network with their colleagues, advance their skills and work to solve some of their greatest professional challenges. More information about Rally is available at alliancerally.org.
Media interested in attending Rally 2018 should contact Joshua Lynsen, the Alliance’s media relations manager, at [email protected] or 202-800-2239.
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.
Joshua Lynsen, Land Trust Alliance, http://www.landtrustalliance.org/, +1 202-800-2239, [email protected]
Share this article