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.
Galbraith Estate
The Trust for Public Land is working with its partners to purchase and protect this former pineapple plantation for use by local farmers on O'ahu. read more »
Garfield County Greenprint
This Greenprint identifies critical assets across the county and helps guide land conservation efforts to protect these working ranches and farms, clean rivers, scenic views, and places for recreation. read more »Gecho Ranch
The Gecho Ranch in the heart of the Madison Valley has 1,406 acres of grazing land, wildlife habitat, and is in an area that is considered one of the most ecologically intact corners of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. read more »Griggs Farm
Established in 1943, Griggs Farm was the place to go in Billerica for spring tomato plants or fall pumpkins. But by the 1990s the farm had been hemmed in by retail malls as the town's character grew more suburban. read more », spirits, and communities and foster a healthy, vibrant agricultural system.
