What is a Land Trust?

Land trusts are private, non-profit organizations established to protect land and water resources for public benefit. They are community institutions that make a community a great place to live and promote the health of the region. They also help sustain outdoor traditions that are part of our cultural heritage.

Land trusts protect land from uses that harm wildlife habitats, scenic landscapes or open spaces — land with natural, recreational, scenic, historic or productive value to their communities.

Over 4.7 million acres of land are currently protected by more than 1,200 land trust organizations of all sizes nationwide, with more than 50 land trusts operating in Wisconsin. Many land trusts do not own land; they work by maintaining conservation agreements they helped put in place.

"It is our duty to conserve [that] land for the future and not destroy it for our own purposes".

Pete Oberhauser, landowner