Ultimately, it is our duty to be good stewards of this inherited capital so that it can benefit future generations. Respect for property rights is essential to land conservation. Private owners are the backbone of the land trust movement. It is they who decide what they want to do with their land. Land trusts typically work with landowners who choose, voluntarily, to protect their land rather than develop it, and exercise that right by dedicating their land to conservation for the public benefit.
Land trusts make strong conservation partners.
Public policy aimed at stewardship of private lands should include a clear role for land trusts. Because all land is part of a larger ecosystem, watershed or habitat, lasting conservation requires cooperation among landowners, businesses, local, state, or federal agencies, and citizens. Nonprofit community-based land trusts have proven success in forging these partnerships, as well as assisting with such tasks as managing publicly owned land and monitoring and helping to enforce conservation easements. The proven methods, experience, and skill of land trusts should be fully encouraged and used in carrying out land conservation programs.