In honor of National Nonprofit Day we are sharing this excerpt from our Spring/Summer SierraScapes Newsletter. Together with our supporters and volunteers, we are working to ensure a bright future of conservation in the Eastern Sierra.
Protecting spectacular natural and working lands like Ullman Ranch, Centennial Point Ranch, and Black Lake Preserve from development is the mission of Eastern Sierra Land Trust. As a public benefit nonprofit, we work with willing landowners to assist us in achieving this. Together, we create voluntary permanent conservation easements that restrict development on open land and working ranches and forever preserve vital habitat for the animals and plants that share this beautiful land with us.
Land Trust Accreditation
The accreditation seal is a mark of excellence in Land Conservation.
Since 2011, ESLT has held its status as an Accredited Land Trust. Accreditation through the Land Trust Accreditation Commission is a mark of distinction and only comes after an intense review of the organization’s policies and procedures. Once accredited, the accreditation seal we receive shows that we meet the highest standards for land conservation; it gives those who support us the assurance that we will keep our promise of perpetual protection.
We are not alone in our land conservation efforts. ESLT is joined by a diverse group of organizations, all with common goals. The California Council of Land Trusts has as its mission, “to conserve California’s extraordinary land and water resources through a strong network of land trusts with one cohesive voice across urban and rural communities.” Kay Ogden, our Executive Director/CEO is Vice Chair of their Board of Directors. She previously served as Vice President of the Sierra Cascade Land Trust Council which is made up of 14 local land trusts in the Sierra Nevada and California Cascades and five state and national partners.
“Being an Accredited Land Trust gives us clear standards to guide our work, helps us in times of crisis, and makes us more creative problem solvers.” – Kay Ogden, Executive Director/CEO
Note that the original printed version of SierraScapes contained a mistake and an omission on page two that has been corrected in the online edition. The correction clarifies that in 2003, the first protected 20 acres in Swall Meadows came to ESLT through an outright donation of the Ingram Conservation Easement from ESLT co-founders Karen Ferrell-Ingram and Stephen Ingram rather than through a donation of land
