Land trusts accept donations of properties, buy land, or help landowners establish legal restrictions that limit harmful use and development. Protect land that has natural, recreational, scenic, historic, or productive value . Some land trusts preserve many different types of land. Others focus on a particular area or resource. Usually not adversarial .
Land trusts work cooperatively with landowners,the community, and government agencies.
Some own and manage nature preserves, recreation areas, or historic sites. Others monitor the development restrictions they have helped establish, but own no land at all, while still others work in partnership with government conservation agencies , acquiring critical land that they later convey to the agencies. Help landowners obtain professional assistance in estate planning, tax and conservation law, and environmental and land planning. Respond quickly, flexibly, and confidentially . They may be effective where government action fails short.