Introduction Land Trusts acquire property in a variety of ways. They buy it at market value.
Someone donates it for zero money.
They buy it at a bargain price. They use grants to purchase it. They hold conservation easements, or they only manage it. Some land trusts are very particular about the lands that they receive or purchase. The Nature Conservancy, for example, only takes land that has endangered plant or animal species on it, or that in its entirety is itself an endangered habitat or ecosystem.