Three WI Land Trusts in the Running for National Honor

We’re pleased to announce that Mississippi Valley Conservancy, Bayfield Regional Conservancy, and Caledonia Conservancy have submitted applications to the Land Trust Accreditation Commission.  Our hats are off to you!

See a video we made about the process and hear testimonials from these land trust leaders.

This status demonstrates proof that a land trust is operating beyond reproach in a series of operational and programmatic standards and practices. Independent accreditation provides the assurance of quality and permanence of land conservation the public is looking for and publicly recognizes a land trust’s ability to protect important natural places and working lands forever.

The invitation to apply comes after many months, often years, of work revising policy, updating records, and fund-raising to ensure perpetual agreements are upheld.

There is currently only one accredited land trust in WI, Kinnickinnic River Land Trust, so these three applicants are significant!  Each of these organizations has had connections with and received services from GWC and the Land Trust Alliance as recently as this year.  As we look ahead to meeting our goals for the Land Trust Excellence and Advancement Program (LEAP), we’re proud to share with you these accomplishments that align so squarely with our commitment to land trust excellence.

More information on the Land Trust Accreditation Commission can be found here.

Focusing on Land Management in 2011

When considering the ultimate strategy for land trusts, there is an ongoing debate in our line of work: Do we protect as much land as we can now or work to preserve the land we currently have?  With the understanding that we are not equipped to answer this important question, we at Gathering Waters help those who attempt to do both.

In the past few weeks, we’ve reported on this blog and on our Web site about the very popular, bi-partisan Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, both its importance and its future.  This program is a lifeline to the important land protection land trusts accomplish throughout Wisconsin.  That we have dedicated funding for land protection defines us and sets us apart as a state that cares about protecting natural resources and recreational opportunities for our children and grandchildren.

But, there’s more to be done and land trusts are increasingly involved in the secondary strategy of managing the land once it is acquired.  Enter the Stewardship Network, a Michigan nonprofit that sets up clusters of individuals, organizations, and businesses that manage specific sites by sharing ideas, resources, and information.   They offer informational resources on restoration work as well as bring people together around topics and activities in land management.  We do not have a parallel organization in Wisconsin and GWC will be calling upon the resources the Stewardship Network offers in 2011.

Specifically, we want to explore the implementation of a cluster in Wisconsin.  This concept is a tested, valued practice that links people and organizations with funding and tools for local land management.

A few weeks ago I attended the 2011 Stewardship Network conference as a first step toward building a Wisconsin cluster.  In addition to gaining resources toward this goal, my heart was lifted by the conversations.  Speakers such as Peg Kohring from the Conservation Fund and Erin Heskett from the Land Trust Alliance (a conference sponsor and GWC partner for LEAP) spoke about the economic value of conservation.

The audience was challenged to move beyond quoting Aldo Leopold to accomplish real on-the-ground work.  Examples were given to increase land trust capacity as well as widen our reach by connecting youth, engaging in more environmental education activities, and utilizing both science and non science-based restoration practice.

At a time when our primary source of funding has been put on hold, I am heartened by the thinking and actions of the Stewardship Network and look forward to implementing their good work in Wisconsin.

-posted by Kate Zurlo-Cuva, Land Trust Program Director

LEAP Year

Happy new year from Gathering Waters!  As we settle back in to our routines and look ahead to the opportunities on 2011′s horizon, we’re thrilled to announce that Gathering Waters Conservancy (GWC) is launching a new, ambitious program to raise the ships of all Wisconsin land trusts.

Working toward our shared goal of land trust excellence, GWC has partnered with the Land Trust Alliance (the Alliance) – the national organization working to strengthen land trusts – to create Wisconsin’s Land Trust Excellence and Advancement Program (LEAP).

The goals of LEAP are to:

- Strengthen individual land trusts

- Strengthen the fabric of the land trust community statewide

- Advance strategic, collaborative conservation

- Prepare land trusts for Accreditation

Through LEAP, GWC and the Alliance will promote collaborations among land trusts and conservation partners, provide peer-to-peer mentoring to strengthen land trusts and the land trust community, and foster excellence among larger groups of individual land trusts through integrated capacity building services.

LEAP promises to provide land trusts staff and board members with the knowledge and organizational capacity that perpetual conservation demands.

WHY COLLABORATE?

GWC and the Alliance bring different, but complementary expertise to the LEAP program.  The Land Trust Alliance has developed and implemented excellence programs nationwide and brings valuable experience to the table.  Over the past 16 years, Gathering Waters Conservancy has built a strong foundation of trust and support on the local level with Wisconsin’s land trust community.

Now, we see an opportunity to coordinate our complementary services and, in doing so, channel more financial resources to Wisconsin’s land trusts than we have in the past.  By employing a coordinated, formal approach of integrated services, GWC and LTA will strengthen each partner’s mission.  Additionally, they’ll ensure that program benefits will be realized through increased efficiency of service to the Wisconsin land trust community and, by extension, the private land conservation movement.

OUR GOALS

Our overall goal is excellence, but LEAP programming is not prescriptive.  Wisconsin’s land trusts are as diverse as the landscapes they protect.  LEAP’s goals are to help participating organizations define their own path to excellence and pursue it.  GWC and the Alliance will provide support and guidance, whether excellence means Land Trust Accreditation, an agreement to combine resources with neighboring land trusts, or completion of a first strategic plan.

Wisconsin has approximately 50 land trusts that protect more than 200,000 acres of land, but to date only one has attained accreditation: the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust.  The gap in land trusts pursuing accreditation is due in part to a lack of resources available to help them prepare.  LEAP will provide the technical assistance necessary to help Wisconsin land trusts fully implement national Land Trust Standards and Practices, a pre-requisite for accreditation.

We expect that, through LEAP, Wisconsin land trusts will make great gains in overall capacity and capability.  Our goal is that in the next three years:

- 12 land trusts will take significant steps forward in improving their organizations as full participants in the program

- 4-6 land trusts will be accredited or be ready to apply for accreditation

- 200 land trust professionals and board members will have been trained on a variety of technical and organizational management topics

And, our overarching goal is that after these three years, the land trust community in Wisconsin will be stronger, more cohesive, and invested in long-term peer learning opportunities.

Gathering Waters Conservancy would like to thank the following organizations for becoming early supporters of the LEAP program.  If you’d like to support LEAP, please visit our website to make a tax deductible donation.

• The C.S. Mott Foundation
• The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation
• The Forest County Potawatomi Foundation
• The McKnight Foundation
• The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
• Wisconsin Energy Foundation