Pennsylvania

880,722

Acres Protected

That’s about 667,214 football fields!

Land trusts have already conserved 61 million acres of private land across the nation — more than all of the national parks combined. Help us conserve another 60 million acres by the end of the decade.

Together, let’s keep Gaining Ground.

Visitors to Land Trust Properties

More and more people are enjoying the benefits of nature.

Percent of Land Trusts That Provide Public Access to Their Lands

Land trusts provide opportunities to recreate and recharge.

Land trusts provide programs and activities to get people outside and learn about the land.

Walking, hiking and other outdoor recreation improve people's health and well-being.

Universal access trails are designed to be used by all people, regardless of ability.

91%

People from various racial and ethnic backgrounds
Older adults or those living in retirement communities
People who identify as LGBTQ+
People living with disabilities
Veterans

Youth education and development
Community and economic development
Food security and agriculture
Health and wellness
Social and environmental justice

Pennsylvania land trusts are community-led and supported and protect lands and waters that help the entire state.

Active Land Trusts

A land trust is a nonprofit that conserves land by acquiring and stewarding land or conservation easements.

Learn more about land trusts

Alliance Member Land Trusts

Land Trust Alliance members commit to adopting Land Trust Standards and Practices as their guiding principles.

Learn about the land trust alliance

Accredited Land Trusts

Accredited land trusts undergo a thorough review of their practices in governance, finance, transactions and stewardship.

Learn about land trust accreditation

Members/financial supporters

46,664
Volunteers

10,970
Full-time staff

423
Part-time staff

168
Board members

869

Oldest

108 years old (1916)
Youngest

17 years old (2007)
Median age

34 years old

View website

70%

26%

PA Dept. of Conservation & Recreation
U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities
Wild Resources Conservation Fund
Environmental Protection Agency

Acre by acre, land trusts are helping to conserve Pennsylvania lands, waters and ways of life.

2010

2015

2020

      Total acres protected
      
648,018
797,646
880,722
+36%

200,252

265,378

310,198

+55%

142,277

168,165

184,975

+30%

267,131

291,424

302,508

+13%

38,358

73,723

83,041

+116%

Disclaimer: Land trusts conserve land in many different ways and every project is unique. Category totals may change depending on how acres are reported by survey respondents to reflect the most current data and minimize double-counting. In some instances, the total may be greater than the sum of the separate categories due to organizations that provided total acres not broken down by category.

Source: 2020 National Land Trust Census

Source: Trust for Public Land's Conservation Almanac

Source: NRCS - Natural Resources Inventory

This information reflects data collected in the National Land Trust Census, the longest-running comprehensive survey of private land conservation in America. Learn more about the Census and see which land trusts participated in the 2020 National Land Trust Census.

Land trusts across the state are helping find solutions to some of Pennsylvania's most pressing issues.

Providing access to land for all: The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania offers a 1-acre nature play area, called DiscoverGround, on its Beechwood Farms Nature Preserve. Set among woodlands and a wildflower meadow, the play area features a sandpit, a tree house, a climbing trunk, tunnels and serpentine walls.
Read more
Creating healthy communities: The pandemic dramatically changed how we interact with the world. When many arts organizations cancelled their 2020 seasons, Philadelphia contemporary ballet company BalletX found a creative way to make the world its stage. BalletX brought dance into nature through a partnership with Pennsylvania’s accredited Natural Lands.
Read more
Addressing community needs: The accredited Western Pennsylvania Conservancy plants and maintains 130 community flower gardens in the Pittsburgh region that are both beautiful and important urban wildlife areas for birds and pollinators such as butterflies and bees.
Read more

Land Trust Alliance member land trusts, listed below, commit to adopting Land Trust Standards and Practices as their guiding principles.

3,010 acres protected in PA

465 acres protected in PA

1,110 acres protected in PA

6,007 acres protected in PA

787 acres protected in PA

10,773 acres protected in PA

60,879 acres protected in PA

2,334 acres protected in PA

8,976 acres protected in PA

1,424 acres protected in PA

204 acres protected in PA

11,120 acres protected in PA

1,638 acres protected in PA

16,002 acres protected in PA

210 acres protected in PA

831 acres protected in PA

55 acres protected in PA

1,619 acres protected in PA

77 acres protected in PA

2,974 acres protected in PA

French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust

9,465 acres protected in PA

14,217 acres protected in PA

678 acres protected in PA

99 acres protected in PA

236 acres protected in PA

8,889 acres protected in PA

33,098 acres protected in PA

13,247 acres protected in PA

5,280 acres protected in PA

979 acres protected in PA

144 acres protected in PA

245 acres protected in PA

2,294 acres protected in PA

22 acres protected in PA

Merrill W. Linn Land & Waterways Conservancy

1,805 acres protected in PA

573 acres protected in PA

135 acres protected in PA

46,500 acres protected in PA

13 acres protected in PA

20,030 acres protected in PA

12,382 acres protected in PA

497 acres protected in PA

302 acres protected in PA

38 acres protected in PA

Pine Creek Valley Watershed Association, Inc.

486 acres protected in PA

5,079 acres protected in PA

14 acres protected in PA

8,999 acres protected in PA

77 acres protected in PA

1,000 acres protected in PA

102,634 acres protected in PA

128 acres protected in PA

96,215 acres protected in PA

The Trust for Public Land, National Office

2,733 acres protected in PA

5,133 acres protected in PA

265,649 acres protected in PA

842 acres protected in PA

660 acres protected in PA

370 acres protected in PA

49,420 acres protected in PA

2,830 acres protected in PA

Gaining Ground

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