Working together toward shared goals
Through facilitated workshops, field trips and group activities, the convenings create dedicated, in-person space to reflect on program implementation, identify specific areas for improvement and celebrate successes.
2024
Heading into 2024, the Land Trust Alliance and the Natural Resources Conservation Service recognized that while much had been accomplished to strengthen ACEP-ALE and RCPP entity-held easements, communication between national staff and partners was more critical than ever to support strong program implementation. With ever-increasing demand due to ongoing impacts on our nation's working lands, getting conservation dollars out on the ground effectively meant taking bold action. To meet the moment, NRCS and the Alliance expanded the 2024 summit to include RCPP for the first time in addition to the growing number of land trusts that participate in ACEP-ALE.
The 2024 Easements Summit was held in Denver, Colorado, July 29-Aug. 1. Approximately 80 land conservation practitioners and Alliance and NRCS staff attended the event. The four-day summit resulted in several potential solutions and practical tools for supporting productive participation in both ACEP-ALE and RCPP entity-held easements. Outcomes from the summit will be pursued over the coming two years. Next steps include launching an RCPP toolkit on the Alliance website, strengthening communication on ACEP-ALE at the state and local levels, and creating, updating and circulating ACEP-ALE resources.
View the executive summary
2022
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 Easements Summit proved to be an important opportunity for land trusts and NRCS to strengthen trust, assess program implementation and increase program participation. The event addressed process improvements for appraisal reviews, staff capacity of both land trusts and NRCS and identified ways to expand entity certification as a streamlined path for qualified land trusts to complete more ACEP-ALE projects.
The 2022 Easements Summit was held in Jacksonville, Florida, on June 7-9. Approximately 55 land conservation practitioners and Alliance and NRCS staff attended the event. Post-summit outcomes include the establishment of new working groups to address barriers to program participation and support the adoption of multiple streamlining measures taken by the agency to strengthen ACEP-ALE program participation. These measures included raising the threshold for appraisal review from $1 million to $3 million, and pursuing a proactive outreach strategy to increase the number of ACEP-ALE-certified entities.
View the executive summary2018
In 2018, the Alliance and NRCS held a first-of-its-kind summit that brought together land trust leaders and NRCS national team members to find ways to strengthen participation in the ACEP-ALE program. The summit was a rousing success, resulting in an increased understanding of the program, better communication between the land trust community and NRCS and identifying specific issues that land trusts and the agency could work together to address.
The 2018 Easements Summit was held in Austin, Texas, Nov. 13-15. Approximately 45 land conservation practitioners and Alliance and NRCS staff attended the event. Post-summit outcomes included the establishment of working groups to address barriers to program participation, the launch of the Alliance's ACEP-ALE Toolkit and the strengthening of NRCS tools.
View the executive summary
Photo gallery
A tale of success
Keeping working lands in working hands
For years, the Land Trust Alliance and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service have partnered to strengthen land trust participation in critical conservation programs. The partnership has resulted in stronger communications, the development of new tools and resources, and the adoption of significant improvements to ACEP-ALE and RCPP; all of which have brought us to an unprecedented opportunity to leverage these vital programs to keep working lands in working hands.
- 2018
Alliance and NRCS host inaugural ALE Summit in Austin, Texas.
- 2019
Alliance provides land trust input on Interim-Rule for ACEP-ALE implementation.
Alliance and NRCS expand trainings at Rally and host first ALE Summit Round-Up.
NRCS explores new ways to streamline the agreement process, and launches Pilot Program in four states.
- 2020
Alliance and NRCS host three joint webinars to strengthen ALE participation.
Alliance and NRCS launch three working groups on demystifying the ALE process.
NRCS rolls out Program Agreements, co-produces factsheet with Alliance.
- 2021
Alliance launches ACEP-ALE Toolkit in partnership with NRCS.
Alliance and NRCS pilot peer-to-peer training and host three webinars to strengthen program participation.
NRCS releases Final Rule for ACEP and celebrates 5 million acres conserved through easements.
