Working Lands
Credit: Arna Johnson
The nation's farms, ranches, and forests yield food food and timber, support local economies, safeguard clean water, and comprise some of our most beautiful landscapes. A working landscape may be a Western forest of tens of thousands of acres, an emerald mosaic of ranchland in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, or the last farm in a New England town, supplying healthy food while linking the community to its rural past.
Such lands are too important to be lost to poorly planned development. The Trust for Public Land works with landowners, agencies, and communities to keep working lands working while preserving their environmental benefits—often through the use of conservation easements that prevent development while permitting ranching, farming, and sustainable forestry to continue. The result: lands that continue to support our bodies, industries, spirits, and communities, and foster a healthy, vibrant agricultural system.
Explore some of our working lands projects below. Choose a state to get started.
Sanders Farm, St. Helena Island
Protected by TPL in June 2007, Sanders Farm provided the first visible protection of agricultural land on the island and offers a model for other conservation-minded farmers in the area. read more »Schartner and Nicewicz Farms
We helped Bolton residents and the local land trust preserve the adjoining Schartner and Nicewicz farms that had supplied the community and region for generations with a variety of fruits, flowers, and vegetables. read more »Southside Community Farm
TPL worked with Southside Community Land Trust to prevent development on a portion of Southside Community Farm in Providence, Rhode Island, which continues as a community Providence School System resource. read more »Stayton Riverfront Park
The Trust for Public Land helped preserve 51 acres for the Statyon Community Park along the North Santiam River in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. read more », spirits, and communities and foster a healthy, vibrant agricultural system.
