Change is good, but it can be hard. Given the challenges and opportunities we face for land conservation in the 21st Century, we cannot shy away from the exciting times ahead. We will be calling on all our members and many new partners to accept that challenge with us. In the coming months, the financial support of Capitol Land Trust's members and donors will play a critical role in our ability to expand our conservation efforts. Our members not only provide essential funding for Trust operations, but also demonstrate community support for our mission.
Land trusts can and do succeed in making a difference.
As of 1998, more than 4.5 million acres of land had been protected by 1,213 local and regional land trusts in the United States. Approximately 1 million individuals are members and financial supporters of land trusts, and more than 50,000 people are active volunteers. As the new director of Capitol Land Trust, in the months ahead, I will seek to expand the Trust's conservation efforts in several important directions. Increasingly, we will be using specific criteria to identify areas where conservation efforts should be focused. This is a significant step, because it allows Capitol Land Trust to focus its efforts based upon factors such as threat of development, ecological diversity, habitat, proximity to other protected land, and property size.