Natural Lands Trust Seeks Accreditation

Earlier this year, Natural Lands Trust began the process of seeking accreditation from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program launched last year by the Land Trust Alliance (www.lta.org).

Not unlike programs for universities or hospitals, the land trust accreditation program seeks to recognize organizations for meeting national standards for excellence, upholding the public trust and ensuring that preservation efforts are permanent.

For supporters of land trusts, accreditation provides added assurance that your conservation investment is being used wisely and efficiently – particularly important in these unsettling times.

Natural Lands Trust has long been committed to following best practices in all aspects of our operations. Accreditation provides us with a wonderful opportunity to again demonstrate our organizational stability and effectiveness.

Our accreditation application will be submitted in mid November and we invite you to provide your input. The Commission accepts signed, written comments on pending applications. Comments must relate to how Natural Lands Trust complies with national standards related to the ethical and technical operation of a land trust. (For the full list of standards click here.)

To learn more about the accreditation program and to submit a comment, visit www.landtrustaccreditation.org. Comments may also be faxed or mailed to the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, Attn: Public Comments: (fax) 518-587-3183; (mail) 112 Spring Street, Suite 204, Saratoga Springs, NY, 12866. Comments on Natural Lands Trust’s application will be most useful by December 29, 2008.

If you have questions about the accreditation process, you may also contact Andy Pitz at Natural Lands Trust, apitz@natlands.org.