OVLC is a local land trust that works with other land trusts and partners to reach its long-term conservation goals.

What is a land trust?

Land Trusts are private, non-profit land conservation organizations. Land trusts work with private landowners to preserve land that is unique and valuable due to ecological, agricultural, scenic, historic, or recreational qualities. Through the use of estate planning tools and knowledge of federal and state tax laws, land trusts achieve conservation through incentive rather than regulation. As small, local, non-governmental organizations, land trusts can work quickly and creatively to fashion solutions to specific land use planning challenges.  Land trusts have been operating in the United States for over 100 years, although most currently operating land trusts have been founded within the past thirty years. There are now over 1200 land trusts in the United States and they have protected over six million acres of lands with unique ecological, agricultural, scenic, historic, or recreational qualities.

OVLC:  Your Local Land Trust

OVLC is a home-grown land trust.  OVLC works cooperatively with local landowners, communities, and organizations to identify and protect the region's most important natural areas and working lands.  OVLC has a good working relationship with other land trusts in the region and benefits from shared ideas and knowledge.  OVLC belongs to the Land Trust Alliance, a national organization which offers support to over 1600 member land trusts and which sets standards and practices for land trust operations. 

Links to Other Land Trusts

• Chelan-Douglas Land Trust *
• Methow Conservancy *
• The Nature Conservancy
• Land Trust Alliance

*Other land trusts in North Central Washington