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With more than 1500 individual non-profit land trusts operating across the country today, the land conservation movement has grown dramatically in the last quarter century. Maps of these land trusts show, however, that they are highly concentrated on the east coast and in relatively wealthy areas. While conserved lands have some benefits for all people regardless of location, it is clear that land conservation efforts are not equitably distributed among states, landscapes, or communities. A significant initiative of the land conservation movement now is to include groups and areas that have traditionally had little access to conserved land or open space, and perhaps to broaden the definition of conservation itself.

At the same time, rates of development continue to increase in many parts of the country. Traditional financing and land protection methods will not allow land trusts to keep pace with developers, while rising property values and taxes also increase the financial pressures on landowners. Some of the most important new developments in financing, planning, and securing conservation lands now come in partnership with corporations, builders, the military, or local governments. Significant challenges for the land trust community lie ahead, as we seek to strengthen relationships with these partners and develop new connections as well.