Accreditation Awarded by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission
San Antonio, Texas – The Texas Agricultural Land Trust (www.txaglandtrust.org) has achieved accreditation from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance.
“The accreditation process gave TALT a lens to examine our internal operations and to make sure we were holding ourselves to the highest standards of professionalism, process, and transparency. It was rigorous, but it should be. We’re in the business of trust, and the seal of accreditation is key to earning that trust,” says Executive Director Blair Fitzsimons.
TALT was formed in 2006 by leaders from several statewide agricultural, wildlife and landowner organizations. The only Texas land trust whose sole focus is the conservation of agricultural lands, TALT today has partnered with landowners to conserve close to 145,000 acres of prime working lands throughout the state.
The Texas Agricultural Land Trust was awarded accreditation this April and is one of only 207 land trusts out of approximately 1700 from across the country that has been awarded accreditation since the fall of 2008. Accredited land trusts are authorized to display a seal indicating to the public that they meet national standards for excellence, uphold the public trust and ensure that conservation efforts are permanent. The seal is a mark of distinction in land conservation.
“This round of accreditation decisions represents another significant milestone for the accreditation program; the 207 accredited land trusts account for half of the 20,645,165 acres currently owned in fee or protected by a conservation easement held by a land trust,” said Commission Executive Director Tammara Van Ryn. “Accreditation provides the public with an assurance that, at the time of accreditation, land trusts meet high standards for quality and that the results of their conservation work are permanent.”
Each accredited land trust submitted extensive documentation and underwent a rigorous review. “Through accreditation, land trusts conduct important planning and make their operations more efficient and strategic,” said Van Ryn. “Accredited organizations have engaged and trained citizen conservation leaders and improved systems for ensuring that their conservation work is permanent.”
Conserving private agricultural land helps provide many public benefits for all Texas citizens, including clean air and drinking water; safe, affordable food; scenic landscapes and views; recreational places; and wildlife habitat.
“The image most people have of Texas is of wide open spaces. If we don’t take steps to protect our open space, much of it will just be a memory,” said TALT’s Board President Richard Lucas. “Being accredited by the Land Trust Alliance helps the Texas Agricultural Land Trust build trust in the land owner community to achieve our goal of conserving private lands for the benefit of all Texans now and for generations to come.”
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Texas Agricultural Land Trust
Modeled on successful agricultural land trusts in Colorado, Wyoming and California, TALT promotes the conservation of private working lands, wildlife habitats and natural resources. TALT’s philosophy, mission and principles reflect our overarching respect for landowner’s property rights and our commitment to protect them now and forever. Created by landowners for landowners, TALT is proud to help thoughtful land stewards leave their legacy of productive, wide, open spaces to generation after generation of Texans. Learn more about TALT at www.txaglandtrust.org.
Land Trust Accreditation Commission
The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, based in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., awards the accreditation seal to community institutions that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. The Commission, established in 2006 as an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, is governed by a volunteer board of diverse land conservation and nonprofit management experts from around the country. See a complete list of all six recently accredited land trusts online at http://www.landtrustaccreditation.org/newsroom/press-releases. More information on the accreditation program is available on the Commission’s website, www.landtrustaccreditation.org.
Land Trust Alliance
The Land Trust Alliance, of which the Texas Agricultural Land Trust is a member, is a national conservation group that works to save the places people love by strengthening conservation throughout America. It works to increase the pace and quality of conservation by advocating favorable tax policies, training land trusts in best practices and working to ensure the permanence of conservation in the face of continuing threats. The Alliance publishes Land Trust Standards and Practices and provides financial and administrative support to the Commission. It has established an endowment to help ensure the success of the accreditation program and keep it affordable for land trusts of all sizes to participate in accreditation. More information can be found at www.landtrustalliance.org.
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