WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 18, 2022) – The Land Trust Alliance and the Open Space Institute today announced the awarding of nearly $400,000 in grants to aid communities in planning for and mitigating the impacts of climate change. The program is generously funded by Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, J.M. Kaplan Fund, Jane’s Trust Foundation, the Volgenau Foundation, the William Penn Foundation, an anonymous foundation, and several individual donors.
The grants, which have been awarded to 30 nonprofit organizations nationwide, will help local land trusts and other nonprofit organizations in harnessing strategic land protection and stewardship, to support the ability of forests and other landscapes in capturing carbon; provide land-based buffers against climate change impacts; and help wildlife adapt to a changing climate. The grants also include nearly $50,000 of direct technical assistance to land trusts for climate-focused planning and communications.
“Land trust and conservation organizations are quiet leaders in helping communities address and mitigate the devastating effects of climate change,” said OSI president and CEO Kim Elliman. “OSI is proud to support the exceptional work done by these organizations with grants directly addressing the local impact of climate change. We thank the Land Trust Alliance for their continued partnership in advancing natural, land-based solutions for the climate change crisis.”
“The generosity of our grant funders is matched only by the value and importance of these dollars to communities across the country,” said Andrew Bowman, the Alliance’s president and CEO. “These grants will help land trusts develop strategic land protection plans and implement effective stewardship at a time when every available dollar for such efforts is crucial to successfully mitigating and adapting to climate change.”
Land trusts and conservation organizations are at the forefront of helping communities adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change. Land protection not only preserves the ability of forests and other natural features to absorb carbon from the atmosphere, but it also prevents significant greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation. Since 2015, the Alliance and OSI have partnered to fund, provide technical assistance, and train land trusts and other conservation nonprofits in incorporating climate science into their acquisition and stewardship planning — an initiative that aligns with the goals of the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law in August 2022.
The grantees are:
- Alaska’s Kachemak Heritage Land Trust ($6,682, plus $7,500 in technical assistance) — Developing a Climate Inclusive Strategic Conservation Plan.
- California’s Mendocino Land Trust ($10,000) — California Climate Integration.
- California’s Ojai Valley Land Conservancy ($7,000)— Mapping the Community Open Space for Resilience.
- California’s San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust, Inc. ($13,000, plus $7,500 in technical assistance) — Climate Action Project.
- California’s Sempervirens Fund ($12,000) — Climate Impact on Santa Cruz Mountain Redwoods —Public Communications for Advocacy and Action.
- Colorado’s Montezuma Land Conservancy ($12,000, plus $7,500 in technical assistance) — MLC Climate Resiliency.
- Maine’s Island Heritage Trust ($14,816, plus $5,000 in technical assistance) — Indigenous Voices and Climate Change.
- Maine’s Georges River Land Trust ($6,506) — Georges River Land Trust Preserve Management Planning for Adaptation and Mitigation.
- Maine’s Greater Lovell Land Trust ($10,000) — Climate-Informed Land Management for Western Maine.
- Maine’s Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust ($12,000) — Maine Appalachian Trail Geospatial Information for Conservation (MATGIC).
- Maine’s Maine Farmland Trust ($12,000, plus $7,500 in technical assistance) — Incorporating Climate Science into Farmland Protection and Creating a Land Management Menu.
- Maine’s Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust ($15,000) — Upper Androscoggin Headwaters Climate Corridor.
- Massachusetts’ Essex County Greenbelt Association ($15,000) — Land Conservation Climate & DEIJ Planning Project.
- Massachusetts’ Wareham Land Trust ($10,000) — Conservation Prioritization: Guiding WLT’s Future Land Acquisition.
- Michigan’s Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy ($10,000) — Climate Change Planning and Adaptation Assessment.
- Minnesota’s Northern Waters Land Trust ($5,000, plus $5,000 in technical assistance) — Building Climate Communications around Land Conservation in North Central Minnesota.
- New Jersey’s The Land Conservancy of New Jersey ($15,000, plus $7,500 in technical assistance) — Land Protection Plan for the Northern and Western Pinelands.
- New Jersey’s Ridge and Valley Conservancy ($10,000) — Appalachian Valley and Ridge Region Strategic Conservation Planning
- New York’s Mohonk Preserve ($12,000) — Climate-Adaptive Hemlock Forest Management Plan.
- New York’s National Audubon Society ($14,950) — Demonstrating Climate-smart Habitat through Forest Management Plans on Three Audubon Properties.
- North Carolina’s The North Carolina Historic Sites Alliance ($8,253) — Bentonville Battlefield Land Management Plan.
- Ohio’s Three Valley Conservation Trust ($10,000) — Three Valley Soil Health Program.
- Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Land Trust ($15,000) — Churchill Valley Greenway Management Plan.
- Pennsylvania’s French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust ($14,900, plus $5,000 in technical assistance) — Reframing land trust priorities and public communication to respond to climate change impacts.
- Pennsylvania’s French Creek Valley Conservancy ($2,737) — Conserved Land Climate Resilience Project.
- Pennsylvania’s Western Pennsylvania Conservancy ($15,000) — Improving Bennett Branch Forest Management for Carbon Sequestration, Storage and Climate Resiliency.
- Texas’ Texas Agricultural Land Trust ($13,000) — Sustainability Starts Here: Promoting the Value of Texas Working Lands.
- Texas’ The Frontera Land Alliance ($15,000) — Climate Change in the Chihuahuan Desert.
- Virginia’s Northern Virginia Conservation Trust ($14,670) — NVCT Strategic Conservation Plan Phase 2.
- Wisconsin’s River Revitalization Foundation ($15,000) — RRF Climate Change Communication Plan.
About the Open Space Institute
The Open Space Institute protects scenic, natural, and historic landscapes to provide public enjoyment, conserve habitat and working lands, and sustain communities. Founded in 1974 to protect significant landscapes in New York State, OSI has been a partner in the protection of nearly 2.3 million acres in North America. Visit OSI online at www.openspaceinstitute.org.
About the Land Trust Alliance
Founded in 1982, the Land Trust Alliance is a national land conservation organization that works to save the places people need and love by strengthening land conservation across America. The Alliance represents approximately 950 member land trusts supported by more than 250,000 volunteers and 6.3 million members nationwide. The Alliance is based in Washington, D.C., and operates several regional offices. More information about the Alliance is available at www.landtrustalliance.org.
About the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
The mission of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is to improve the quality of people’s lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research, and child well-being, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke’s properties. The mission of DDCF’s Environment Program is to ensure a thriving, resilient environment for wildlife and people, and foster an inclusive, effective conservation movement. For more information, please visit www.ddcf.org.