September 20, 2008

Willistown Conservation Trust Earns National Recognition
Accreditation Awarded by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission
 
The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, announced last night that Willistown Conservation Trust has been awarded accredited status.

 “Accredited land trusts meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever,” said Commission Executive Director Tammara Van Ryn. “The accreditation seal lets the public know that the accredited land trust has undergone an extensive, external review of the governance and management of its organization and the systems and policies it uses to protect land.”

"Willistown Conservation Trust’s accredited status demonstrates our commitment to permanent land conservation," says Bonnie Van Alen, Executive Director.  “Our land trust is a stronger organization today having gone through the rigorous accreditation program.”

Land is America’s most important and valuable resource. Conserving our land helps ensure clean air and drinking water, food security, scenic landscapes and views, recreational places, and habitat for the diversity of life on earth. Across the country, local citizens and communities have come together to form land trusts to save the places they love. Community leaders in land trusts across the country have worked with willing landowners to save over 37 million acres of farms, forests, parks and places people care about. Strong, well-managed land trusts provide local communities with effective champions and caretakers of their critical land resources, and safeguard the land through the generations.

The official accreditation award and seal was presented to the Trust at The National Land Conservation Conference in Pittsburgh, PA in September.  Rally, hosted by The Land Trust Alliance, is the largest gathering of land conservationists in the country. Accredited land trusts are able 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.

About The Land Trust Accreditation Commission

• The Land Trust Accreditation Commission awards the accreditation seal to community institutions that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. The Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance established in 2006, is governed by a volunteer board of diverse land conservation and nonprofit management experts from around the country. More information is available on the Commission’s website, www.landtrustaccreditation.org.