The Dirt

Private land conservation provides a means for Americans of all backgrounds to save the places they need and love through personal initiative, landowner empowerment and charity — something we’re extremely thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Budding naturalists can check out nature in New York’s Hudson Valley with only a library card — and a sense of adventure.

Some incredible environmental and cultural preservation projects are being carried out by land trusts throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

To maintain wild spaces and advance future land protection, the next generation needs to learn stewardship values and a conservation mindset.

“[We see] unparalleled potential to build a connected, climate-resilient landscape linking more than one million acres of wildlife habitat." — Oregon Desert Land Trust

Returning to in-person activities following the COVID-19 shutdown can be an emotional rollercoaster. But joy was the emotion that quickly rose above the rest in New Orleans for Rally: The National Land Conservation Conference.

“Because my tribe was displaced from our ancestral lands…we had to reclaim our knowledge of how fire was used by our people and relearn what it means to work with it.” — Jessica Douglas, member of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians

The accredited Maine Farmland Trust and other groups, in order to support action on “forever” chemicals (or PFAS), established a relief fund to help Maine farmers cover the costs of testing, income loss and mental health support.

The accredited New Mexico Land Conservancy recently completed one of the nation’s largest conservation easements.