Grassroots Conservation of Biological Diversity in the United States Page: 14
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Table 1 .--Distribution of the Total Acreage
Encompassed by the Land Conservation Activities
of U.S. Land Trusts
Percent
Nature of holdings Acreage of total
Owned by purchasing land trust . . . . 289,000 17
Conservation easements ...... , 448,000 26
Transferred to a third party (e.g.,
a National Park) ... . . . . . 975,000 57
SOURCE B Emory Ex eui re Director Land TruslExchange personal commit"
ni cation Sentem her t 985
Maine Coast Heritage Trust, and Napa County
Land Trust in California. Their purpose was to
establish "... a national communication net
work for local and regional private land con
servation groups. " They emphasize local and
regional preservation of land and water. The
list of sponsoring organizations currently ex
ceeds 40, and a growing number of other organi
zations and individuals are associate members.
The Land Trust Exchange holds no land it
self. Rather, they provide assistance and exper
tise to conservation organizations throughout
the United States. They publish a professional
journal, Exchange, that includes in depth case
studies and articles on conservation techniques,
program development and management, and
public policy. They also distribute a series of
memoranda on Federal tax matters affecting
land conservation, a directory of land trusts, and
numerous special publications on specific
topics. One recent project is a national survey
of all government and nonprofit conservation
easement programs in the United States. An
other is a movie documenting the public benefits
of conservation easements which features the
Blackfoot River in Montana; Freeport, Maine;
and the Chesapeake Bay.
The exchange runs an information exchange
service called the Peer Match Program which
allows a land trust with a specific problem to
obtain low cost consulting help from another
land trust which has had a similar problem. The
exchange also sponsors meetings and confer
ences which educate members, address policy
issues, and stimulate exchange of ideas and in
formation. A part time Washington, DC, repre
sentative, supported by the exchange, responds
to specific political issues affecting land trusts.Finally, the exchange provides opportunities for
land trusts to participate in group insurance
plans such as Blanket Bonding, Volunteer Ac
cident Coverages, Property Coverages, and vari
ous forms of liability insurance necessary for
groups which hold land.
The governing body of the Land Trust Ex
change is a board of directors, which is elected
by the sponsoring organizations (the legal tax
status of the exchange is derived from the tax
status of their sponsors). The board is deliber
ately composed of land trust professionals from
different parts of the country.
Grants from private, national, charitable foun
dations, and a few corporations provide approx
imately two thirds of the general operating
budget of the exchange. The remaining third
comes from sales of services as well as individ
ual and group memberships. Sponsoring groups
contribute 1 percent of their administrative
budget as their membership fee. To ensure that
no single group can exercise excessive control
over the organization the fee cannot be less than
$100, or more than $1,000. Funds for special
projects and programs come from foundation
grants. The staff includes two full time and two
part time people in Maine and one part time per
son in Washington, DC.
The organization hopes to develop a more sta
ble base of support, founded on greater indi
vidual membership and on a larger market for
exchange services, Though the exchange has
earned a reputation in the conservation com
munity, that constituency has limited funds.
Consequently, they are continually seeking op
portunities for increased support of their own
activities and those of their sponsors.
Political sophistication, particularly about tax
law, is essential in the land trust community,
Changes in deductions for the value of donated
conservation easements have caused difficul
ties for some groups and individuals. The ex
change has addressed this problem through both
its Washington representative and publications.
The goal of these activities is to provide infor
mation to exchange constituents as well as to
make the political and conservation community
more aware of the valuable role played by land
trust groups,
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United States. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment. Grassroots Conservation of Biological Diversity in the United States, report, February 1986; [Washington D.C.]. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc39608/m1/18/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.