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.
Harvego Bear River Preserve
In December 2010, TPL was able to pull a bright conservation success story out of the bleak economic downturn, and purchase Bruin Ranch, now known as the Harvego Bear River Preserve, which will eventually underpin a regional wilderness trail and park. read more »Holbrook's Wharf
For almost 150 years, Holbrook's Wharf has helped define the community of Cundy's Harbor, Maine. When the wharf's longtime owners needed to sell, the community feared loss of waterfront access for local fishermen, and the demise of the local gathering place. read more »Horse Springs Ranch
This 16,000-acre working cattle ranch in western New Mexico is home to more than just cattle. read more »Humboldt Community Forest
Ryan Creek is a tributary of the Humboldt Bay, a coastal lagoon on California's rugged North Coast. We are working with Green Diamond Resource Company to preserve 7,550 acres in this area as a community forest outside of Eureka. read more », spirits, and communities and foster a healthy, vibrant agricultural system.
