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.
Black Duck Cove
In 2006, TPL acquired an option on an eight-acre former lobster pound at Black Duck Cove that will be used for applied marine research, a public hatchery, a business incubator and a marine education facility. read more »Bozeman Pass - Chestnut Mountain Trail
In 2009, following a decade of work, The Trust for Public Land created public access to the Chestnut Mountain trailhead, gateway to Bozeman Pass read more »Brainerd Lakes
In the Brainerd Lakes area, The Trust for Public Land led an effort to purchase a working forest conservation easement over 4,776 acres of prime forestland owned by the Potlatch Corporation. read more »Buffalo Hill Farm
Buffalo Hill Farm, located fifteen miles south of Worcester, has a rich history. read more », spirits, and communities and foster a healthy, vibrant agricultural system.
