Bishop, California — Eastern Sierra Land Trust is pleased to announce that it has received an award from the Land and Climate Grant Program managed by the Land Trust Alliance and Open Space Institute. The funds from this grant are meant to allow land trusts or other conservation organizations to incorporate climate science into strategic land protection and stewardship efforts, harnessing the land’s natural ability to capture and store carbon.

ESLT finalizing data-driven Conservation Plan

This grant from the Land Trust Alliance directly supports ESLT’s mission to conserve ecologically and agriculturally important lands, sustain local economies, preserve biodiversity, and advance climate resilience.

“In 2025, we used rigorous data to identify 14 Priority Investment Areas, guiding where focused conservation action can deliver the greatest benefits for the Eastern Sierra’s land, water, and communities.” –Amy Sturgill, Conservation Programs Director at ESLT.

With Priority Investment Areas identified, the team at Eastern Sierra Land Trust can now “finalize our Strategic Conservation Plan and focus on protecting the lands, waters, and wildlife that define the Eastern Sierra,” adds Mark Drew, Executive Director at ESLT. This grant directly supports those efforts.

In total, the Land Trust Alliance and the Open Space Institute are awarding more than $243,000 to help communities across the country better plan for and mitigate the impacts of climate change. This work will enable people, plants and animals to better adapt to a changing climate. The program is generously funded by the Doris Duke Foundation, Jane’s Trust Foundation, the J.M. Kaplan Fund and the Volgenau Foundation.

“Land conservation has a key role to play in tackling climate change,” said Kelly Watkinson

Kelly Watkinson, Land and Climate Program Director at the Land Trust Alliance, also expressed how local land trust actions can have a global impact on the climate. “Every acre protected and well-managed can be part of the solution. The Land and Climate Grant Program, operated in tandem with the Open Space Institute, supports land trusts that are developing and implementing climate-informed land conservation and stewardship strategies into their everyday work.”

In the five years since the Land and Climate Grant Program’s launch, the Alliance and OSI have awarded more than $1.6 million in grants and technical assistance to address the climate crisis. In total, the Land and Climate Grant Program has supported 133 projects led by 116 different organizations located in 35 states and Puerto Rico.

Eastern Sierra Land Trust is grateful for the support.

About the Land Trust Alliance

Founded in 1982, the Land Trust Alliance is a national land conservation organization working to save the places people need and love by empowering and mobilizing land trusts in communities across America to conserve land for the benefit of all. The Alliance represents approximately 1,000 member land trusts and affiliates supported by more than 250,000 volunteers and 6.3 million members nationwide. The Alliance is based in Washington, D.C., with staff working in communities across the U.S. More information about the Alliance is available at www.landtrustalliance.org.

About the Open Space Institute

The Open Space Institute is a national leader in land conservation and efforts to make parks and other protected land more welcoming for all. Since 1974, OSI has partnered in the protection of more than 2.5 million at-risk and environmentally sensitive acres in the eastern U.S. and Canada. OSI’s land protection promotes clean air and water, improves access to recreation, provides wildlife habitat, strengthens communities, and combats climate change, while curbing its devastating effects.

About the Doris Duke Foundation

The Doris Duke Foundation (DDF) supports the well-being of people and the planet for a more creative, equitable and sustainable future. We operate five national programs — in the performing arts, the environment, medical research, child and family well-being and mutual understanding between communities — as well as Duke Farms and Shangri La, two centers that directly serve the public. Through the Environment Program, DDF seeks to ensure a thriving, resilient environment for wildlife and people, and foster an inclusive, effective conservation movement.

About Eastern Sierra Land Trust

Eastern Sierra Land Trust (ESLT) partners with local landowners, agencies, and conservation supporters like you to protect the Eastern Sierra for the future. Since 2001, ESLT has helped landowners and our community conserve nearly 24,000 acres of critical wildlife habitat, historic agricultural resources, and scenic vistas, located on 27 unique properties right here in the Eastern Sierra. Our aim is to preserve a healthy balance of land uses that can be sustained forever, ensuring a strong local economy and healthy environment for generations to come.