NEW YORK, NY (Feb. 10, 2021)—The Open Space Institute (OSI) today released a retrospective on the transformative impact of its Resilient Landscapes Initiative. The retrospective offers an overview of its seven-year effort to help land trusts mobilize around the land protection of resilient lands likely to harbor sensitive plants and animals, even as the climate changes; and appreciate the important role the conservation community plays in responding to climate change.
The retrospective describes efforts, spanning 2013 to 2020, by OSI and partners in the eastern United States to translate cutting-edge climate science for land trusts. By harnessing resilience for conservation, the initiative succeeded in protecting specific landscapes deemed critical to enabling natural and human communities to adapt to a changing climate.
In total, the Resilient Landscapes Initiative provided grants totaling $11 million to conserve some 50,000 acres; integrated climate resilience, developed by The Nature Conservancy, into 41 conservation plans by land trusts and public-private partnerships; and disseminated training materials and case studies to more than 1,300 practitioners. Throughout this work, the initiative showcased resilient landscapes, and raised awareness among land trusts about how the land can be part of the solution to the climate crisis.
OSI's Resilient Landscapes Initiative (2013-2020)
The retrospective describes efforts by OSI and partners in the eastern United States to translate cutting-edge climate science for land trusts.
OSI’s Resilient Landscapes Initiative was supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Jane’s Trust, the Lyndhurst Foundation, Benwood and William Penn Foundations, the North Atlantic Landscape Cooperative, and the New York State Conservation Partnership Program/Land Trust Alliance also contributed funding.