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How We Do It

Research & Publications

Image Credit: Mac Stone

By quantifying the value of conservation, OSI is helping communicate the immense value and far-ranging benefits of protected land.

Research as a tool to influence decision-makers

Incorporating land-based research, OSI works to inform policymakers, local land trusts, and the public about the constructive role land protection can play in responding to the climate crisis, strengthening communities, managing precious natural resources such as drinking water, and so much more.

Our research informs widescale strategic land protection and land management, and is distilled into practical guides such as multimedia Story Maps — which combine text, images, video, and maps to produce compelling narratives that build support for land protection.

Maximizing carbon capture

Trees are the world’s best carbon capture technology. Not only do our on-the-ground efforts protect forests for climate, OSI also works to ensure that the larger land trust community is positioned to maximize forests’ climate protection capabilities.

We create step-by-step guides for audiences including policymakers and practitioners to gain the knowledge and tools to conserve land, even in the face of uncertainty. And, we help them communicate the urgency of their work to the public, funders, and landowners.

Conveying the value of public land

Our Pulse of Parks series looks at visitor trends at a sampling of New York’s state parks.

The reports provide in-depth reviews on the parks' visitor demographics, user satisfaction, and economic impact, and each park’s unique and appealing qualities.

Focusing on flooding

Flooding, both coastal and inland, is the nation’s most destructive part of natural disasters and among the most damaging to human lives and property – with a greater impact on at-risk and marginalized communities.

Using in-depth watershed research, our experts are capturing and communicating the true value of protected lands as a solution for floods, while providing grants to land protection partners, to safeguard land forever and for good.

Capturing the value of drinking water protection

Forests serve as natural and cost-effective filters for the drinking water that flows from the taps into our homes and businesses. Our research focuses on capturing the value of the forested upriver regions of the Delaware River Watershed - the source of drinking water for 15 million people living in Trenton, Philadelphia, Wilmington, New York City, and beyond.

Through vibrant and compelling films we also share this research with the greater public, telling the stories of the land and the lives that rely upon it.

What You Can Do

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