What Is a Land Trust?  (from an umbrella organization comes this definition)

Land trusts are nonprofit, community-based organizations dedicated to the permanent protection and  stewardship of land for public benefit.  They work closely with landowners to conserve land through acquisition, conservation easements or other interests in real property. Read more… Land trusts are supported through charitable donations and use funds for a variety of purposes in support of theirmission.  Once land has been protected, land trusts have an ongoing responsibility to care for the land, ensuring that easements are upheld and preserves well-managed.

Over 137 conservation organizations serve the communities of Connecticut, representing the third most land trusts of any state in the country.  Collectively protecting and managing property with significant natural, cultural and scenic resources, these groups run the spectrum from small, all-volunteer outfits to large organizations with professional staff.  They include groups with a local or regional focus as well as those with a statewide vision for natural resource protection.

“Think of us as a local version of The Nature Conservancy.”  (Peggy Holton, VP, Norwalk Land Trust)