When it comes to local land use practices and policies around the country, land trusts are now a major player. According to a 1998 survey by the Land Trust Alliance, a national land trust umbrella organization, local and regional land trusts have saved more than 4.7 million acres of America's open spaces. For years, land trust activity in Maryland lagged far behind other states, especially New England, with only six trusts operating prior to 1989. By the end of 1998, Maryland's local land trusts were directly responsible for protecting 36,530 acres of the state's endangered open spaces and natural areas, more than a three-fold increase over the 11,590 acres in 1990.
Land trusts are generally private, nonprofit charitable corporations dedicated to land conservation.
They protect land resources through a variety of techniques, most of which involve leveraging their tax exempt status. Some groups such as the Cecil Land Trust have been combining their land trust function with broader educational and community service goals. And in western Maryland, five local trusts established an association primarily to apply for region-wide grant funding under the State's Rural Legacy Program. The types of lands that local land trusts seek are numerous and varied. Some preserve farmland to maintain economic opportunities for local farmers.