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.
Hutchinson Ranch
Located along Highway 50 in central Colorado, Hutchinson Ranch has been a working cattle operation for six generations. read more »Hyde Farm
The Hyde family bought this farm on the Chattahoochee River in the 1920s, and J.C. Hyde, the last of the family, farmed it until he was in his 90s, plowing by hand with the assistance of his stalwart mule, Nell, even as the land around the farm was consumed by urban sprawl. read more »Jones Farm, St. Helena Island
Thanks to TPL, the Jones Farm project is now part of a larger initiative to protect farmland on St. Helena Island and encourage the sustainability of the agricultural industry in the local Gullah Geechee community. read more »Ka'ala Farm
In December 2003, TPL helped Ka`ala Farm acquire this critical piece of property, ensuring permanent access and providing a land base for the farm's future growth. read more », spirits, and communities and foster a healthy, vibrant agricultural system.
