National Accreditation

When you donate to Eastern Sierra Land Trust, you place your trust in us. You trust that we’ll always be around to look after the land you help conserve, and that we’ll do everything within our power to uphold the conservation values we’ve agreed to protect.

Your trust means a lot – in fact, it’s everything. It’s even in our name. Because of your trust, all of us at Eastern Sierra Land Trust feel strongly that it is our duty to hold ourselves to the highest standards of excellence. So we’re proud to share with you our status as a nationally-accredited land trust, a mark of great distinction in land conservation that ESLT has held since 2011.

Awarded by The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, our accreditation demonstrates the Commission’s confidence that Eastern Sierra Land Trust’s conservation efforts are permanent. Accreditation signifies that our work meets the highest national standards for excellence and permanence. It shows that we are ethical, fiscally-accountable leaders in our conservation community, and that when we protect a property forever, we will do it fairly and effectively.

“Our accreditation means that ESLT is doing it right. Landowners can be assured that when we agree to protect their lands forever, we will do it fairly and effectively.”

– Randy Keller, ESLT Board of Directors

ESLT is among more than 450 accredited land trusts that demonstrate their commitment to professional excellence through accreditation, helping to maintain the public’s trust in their work. Today, almost 15 million acres of farms, forests, and natural areas vital to healthy communities – an area about the size of West Virginia – are permanently conserved by accredited land trusts across the country.

“It is exciting to recognize Eastern Sierra Land Trust with this distinction,” said Tammara Van Ryn, Executive Director of the Commission. “Accredited land trusts stand together, united behind strong ethical standards ensuring the places people love will be conserved forever. This network of land trusts has demonstrated fiscal accountability, strong organizational leadership, and lasting stewardship of conservation land.”

Each accredited land trust must apply for renewal every five years and undergoes a comprehensive review as part of its renewal application – a process that ESLT completed in 2016 and 2022. The rigorous process strengthens land trusts like Eastern Sierra Land Trust so they can help landowners and communities achieve their goals.

The Land Trust Accreditation Commission inspires excellence, promotes public trust and ensures permanence in the conservation of open lands by recognizing organizations that meet rigorous quality standards and strive for continuous improvement. The Commission, established in 2006 as an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, is governed by a volunteer board of diverse land conservation and nonprofit management experts. For more, visit landtrustaccreditation.org

Founded in 1982, the Land Trust Alliance is a national land conservation organization that works to save the places people love by strengthening land conservation across America. The Alliance represents more than 1,100 member land trusts supported by more than 100,000 volunteers and 5 million members nationwide. The Alliance is based in Washington, D.C. and operates several regional offices. More information about the Alliance is available at landtrustalliance.org.