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.
Turtle Bay Mauka Agricultural Lands
Forty-five minutes from Honolulu, a patchwork of small fields run from the Kamehameha Highway to the base of the mountains, where local farmers grow a bounty of delicious produce. read more »Vallecitos High Country Ranch
Just west of the Carson National Forest, the scenic Vallecitos High Country Ranch offers dramatic views and a rich, healthy habitat. read more »Wet Mountain Valley
This spectacular valley in south-central Colorado is one of the last remaining places where ranching is still the main way of life. Since 2000, TPL has spearheaded an ambitious and collaborative program to preserve the beauty and way of life in the Wet Mountain Valley. read more »Whalen Island
The Trust for Public Land worked for over two years to protect Whalen Island, one of the most pristine and easily accessible properties on the Oregon Coast, for management by the Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation. read more », spirits, and communities and foster a healthy, vibrant agricultural system.
