Accreditation Promotes Public Trust, Ensures Permanence
The South Kingstown Land Trust announced that it has achieved accreditation – a mark of honor in land conservation. The Land Trust Accreditation Commission awarded accreditation, signifying its confidence that SKLT lands will be protected forever.
Accredited land trusts across the country have permanently conserved more than 15 million acres of farms, forests and natural areas that are vital to healthy, vibrant communities.
“SKLT is very proud to have met the rigorous standards of the national Land Trust Accreditation Commission. All of our staff and trustees hope that reaching this high bar will assure local landowners, granting agencies, and private donors that SKLT does a great job protecting land in our town”, said Joanne Riccitelli, Director of Land Protection. “Accreditation demonstrates SKLT’s ongoing commitment to permanent land conservation. SKLT will continue to work to preserve our natural and agricultural lands that benefit everyone.“
SKLT manages over 12 miles of hiking trails in town, and has been active in farmland protection as well as wildlife habitat protection. Currently, SKLT is raising funds to preserve the 40 acre Whaley Farm, located just of Route 1 on Jerry Brown Farm Road. SKLT hosts speakers and events that are open to all – coming up in March is a talk on winter moths, and our Annual Meeting in April will feature a talk on bobcats. SKLT is a non-profit membership organization – learn more at sklt.org.
South Kingstown Land Trust was among 37 land trusts across the United States to achieve accreditation or to have accreditation renewed in February. SKLT joins the 342 land trusts that demonstrate their commitment to professional excellence through accreditation, helping to maintain the public’s trust in their work.
“It is exciting to recognize the South Kingstown Land Trust with this distinction,” said Tammara Van Ryn, executive director of the Commission. “Together, accredited land trusts stand united behind strong national standards ensuring the places people love will be conserved forever. In all, over 75 percent of private lands conserved by land trusts are now held by an accredited land trust.”
Each accredited land trust meets extensive documentation requirements and undergoes a comprehensive review as part of its accreditation application. The process is rigorous and strengthens land trusts with systems that help landowners and communities achieve their goals. More information about land trust accreditation can be found at www.landtrustaccreditation.org.
The Commission is an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, a national land conservation organization working to save the places people need and love by strengthening land conservation across America. More information about the many benefits of land conservation is available at www.landtrustalliance.org.
About the South Kingstown Land Trust
The South Kingstown Land Trust was founded in 1983 as a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization to acquire and protect open space in the town of South Kingstown. Since its inception in 1983, SKLT has preserved 2650 acres of open space in over 150 projects. Our priorities for land preservation focus on those areas which provide protection of biodiversity and ecosystem resources, groundwater resources and farmland resources. For more information and upcoming events, visit www.sklt.org.
About the Land Trust Accreditation Commission
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 www.landtrustaccreditation.org.
About the Land Trust Alliance
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 www.landtrustalliance.org.
Here are the binders we sent in last April…
We’ll have a party to celebrate this achievement – stay tuned!
