Local land conservation preserves habitat, species populations, addresses climate change and provides diverse benefits to people. In the US, land trusts and other non-profit, donor-supported organizations collaborate with private landowners to preserve ecologically important lands from development and exploitation. This system is resilient to executive orders, cancellation of environmental regulations, protections, or removal of federal funding for conservation by the Trump Administration.

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Land conservation is a critical need in the US as natural lands have been heavily converted for agriculture, suburban and urban development.

Nearly 53% of the total 2.26 billion acre of US land area is used for agriculture, with much of the conversion taking place since 1850. Advancements in agricultural production and yield led to the US population more than doubling since 1950, from 150 million to over 340 million. The daily calories available per person increased steadily, from 2,585 in 1850 to 3,200 by 1950, reaching 3,911 in 2021. The size of homes in the US has also grown significantly since the mid-20th century. In 1949, the average square footage of a single-family home was 909 square feet. That has nearly tripled to 2,480 square feet by 2021. 

These changes reflect rapid post-World War II suburbanization that has continued to the present day, with 50% of the US population now living in suburbs and over 80% of the total population in suburban and urban areas. The amount of additional converted land required to support this trend has been around 1 million acres per year – an area larger than the entire state of Rhode Island.

The benefits for humans have come at great cost for natural ecosystems and species.

A 2023 status report on US biodiversity and conservation found that 41% of ecosystems, 40% of animals and 34% of plants in the country are considered at risk. The report cites human activities, including habitat degradation, land conversion, invasive species, damming and polluting of rivers and climate change, as direct threats to nature. Researchers also found that areas of the US, including Texas, California and the Southeast, where population growth has been highest in recent decades, also had the highest percentages of at-risk ecosystems, animals and plants.

Global species-tracking organizations have reported steep declines across mammals, birds, amphibians, corals, and cycad populations. The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List Index (RLI) cites elevated risk for thousands of species, with amphibians, corals and cycads classified as high risk.

Trump’s Climate Agenda

The Biden administration was the most pro-environment in American history. Over four years, the administration protected 674 million acres of lands and waters, created dozens of new national monuments, wildlife refuges and marine sanctuaries, and signed the $330 billion Inflation Reduction Act into law. The bill allocated millions for habitat conservation and restoration programs. 

Biden also launched the America the Beautiful Initiative, the first-ever national goal to conserve at least 30% of US lands and waters by 2030. This would mark a dramatic increase from the 13% of total US land area currently protected. The goal also aligns with the global target to protect at least 30% of the Earth’s land, water and oceans by 2030 that was adopted by 196 countries at the 2022 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, better known as COP15.

But the new Trump administration has moved rapidly to undo much of his predecessor’s climate work, undercutting environmental policy and regulation, ending support for clean energy development, and opening federal lands to resource extraction.

On his first day in office, President Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Climate Agreement,halted offshore wind lease sales and permits for onshore and offshore wind projects and revoked a Biden administration ban on new offshore oil and gas development along US coastlines.

Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum released a directive that paves the way for opening additional federal lands for fossil fuel and mining development, shrinking protected national monuments and weakening protections for migratory birds and threatened plants.

Over 1,000 employees at the Environmental Protection Agency who focus on climate change, enforcing environmental laws, and reducing air pollution were informed they may soon lose their jobs. The administration has also halted distribution of all climate-related funding authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act. 

These measures are only the beginning of what is anticipated to be a withdrawal of federal capacity, resources, and leadership from environmental conservation over the next four years. If the US is to make progress protecting habitat and preserving biodiversity, the burden will fall on state and local governments and non-governmental organizations that are not dependent on federal funding to operate.

Local Land Conservation

The 1,281 non-profit land trusts operating in the US are a critical driver of land conservation, preservation and stewardship. These are primarily small, community-driven organizations operating at the local, state, and regional levels with private landowners, tribes, government and community partners to protect habitat and working landscapes and create publicly accessible parks and green spaces.

Land trusts operate in all 50 states, are active in 93% of US counties, and employ over 12,000 full and part-time staff. Over 61 million acres of land has been permanently conserved in the US since the first land trust began operating in 1843.

Land is conserved through two primary methods.

Conservation easement

The most common method is a voluntary agreement between a land trust and private landowner, wherein the latter is compensated for or donates a conservation-related right. These agreements may apply to a portion of or an entire property. 

Easements are a substantial tax incentive as the value may qualify as a tax-deductible charitable donation for the landowner. These dictate terms such as what may be planted, if timber can be harvested, type, and location of allowed future development on the property to preserve conservation value. The landowner maintains ownership of the land. The owner can sell, donate or will the land but the conservation easements remain in effect forever. The land trust is responsible for enforcing easement restrictions.

Direct purchase or donation

Land is purchased from a private landowner by the land trust or received as a donation. As with a conservation easement, the value of donated land may qualify as a tax-deductible charitable donation. The land trust owns and manages the land.

Land conservation and acquisition is funded through a mix of government and non-governmental grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations that vary widely by land trust. 

Benefits

80% of land trusts provide public access to their lands with over 1.2 million acres of land trust property and 9,761 miles of trails open to the public. Over 16 million people visited land trust properties in 2020.

Moreover, an analysis by the Trust for Public Land (TPL) found that the cost of acquiring and stewarding publicly accessible land was more than offset by increased property valuation and property tax revenues. Conserved lands directly contribute to timber, commercial fishing, outdoor recreation, and tourism industries.

A report by TPL and two local land trusts on the economic value of land conservation on the Olympic Peninsula in northwest Washington State – an incredibly biodiverse region that includes Olympic National Park and significant timber, fishing and tourism industries – found diverse benefits. Land conserved from development but maintained as working landscapes supported 1,440 jobs and $92.1 million in annual wages, as well as contributing to $29.4 million in annual agricultural products and $5.59 million annual fish landings. Conserved outdoor spaces directly enhance the local tourist economy that generates $306 million in visitor spending.

Undeveloped lands also improve water quality by filtering pollutants and slowing runoff, preserving carbon sequestration potential in soils and forests and protecting wildlife habitat and corridors.

Land trust staff are supported by over 233,000 volunteers that assist with tasks across operations, monitoring, education, construction and stewardship, aiding community engagement. Regular work parties and larger volunteer events provide an opportunity for community members to build connections while performing vital functions such as tree planting and invasive species removal on conserved lands. Land trusts also frequently partner with local school districts to provide environmental education and opportunities for students to observe and interact directly with nature and wildlife on land trust preserves.

Lastly, land trusts can play a vital role in growing local and national parks by acquiring privately held land and transferring to it a government agency for public use. For example, land acquired by The Nature Conservancy enabled Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado to grow from 35,000 acres to 149,028 acres.

Local Land Conservation Is Resilient

The land trust strategy of funding land conservation from grants, organizational and individual donors in the communities they serve is a resilient model in the Trump era. No executive order, cancelled regulation, species protection or federal funding source can fully halt local land conservation. Land trusts can continue to operate if there are willing and motivated private landowners, donors, funding sources, and volunteers available to support their conservation and stewardship.

Featured image: Wikimedia Commons.