Policy that Delivers for People, Parks, and Public Lands
For decades, Trust for Public Land has shaped public policy, unlocked essential conservation funding, and helped communities navigate complex federal programs to create parks and protect public lands where they’re needed most.
Proven Policy Leadership With Real‑World Results
We are a national leader in conservation finance, helping state and local partners design, pass, and implement voter-approved conservation ballot measures and legislative measures that support parks, land protection, and climate resilience. By combining policy expertise, public opinion research, and on-the-ground implementation support, TPL helps communities secure the resources they need to invest in high-quality public spaces. The result? We’ve helped generate billions in public funding and protect millions of acres of land for generations to come.
We’ve worked for decades, across administrations and party lines, to advance policies that expand access to parks, protect public lands, and strengthen communities. Our federal relations team engages directly with Congress, federal agencies, and national partners to shape legislation, safeguard critical conservation programs, and ensure public investments deliver greater access to the outdoors so that people and communities can thrive.
From securing permanent funding for cornerstone programs like the Land and Water Conservation Fund to advancing park access where it is needed most through initiatives such as the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership, TPL helps turn national policy priorities into lasting outcomes for communities nationwide.
Public policy only succeeds when communities can access and use the programs it creates. Trust for Public Land provides hands-on technical assistance to help communities navigate complex federal funding opportunities—bridging the gap between policy and implementation.
By pairing federal policy expertise with deep, place-based experience, TPL helps ensure that federal investments reach the communities they are intended to serve.
Access Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) Technical Assistance
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The TPL LandVote® Database
Every year, dozens of state and local governments vote to raise public funds in support of land conservation. Our LandVote database is the premier source of information about these measures, bringing together the most comprehensive history of conservation finance measures on ballots across the country.
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Conservation Almanac
Created to assess the impacts of conservation efforts, Conservation Almanac allows you to discover, analyze, and map the results of federal, state, and local funding for conservation since 1998.
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Land and Water Conservation Fund Project Map
For more than fifty years, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has been America’s most important public access and conservation program. LWCF has created thousands of local parks across the country and has protected and expanded access to our national public lands.
The LWCF digital map website is available to the public and includes two web-based/interactive maps. The Past Projects map allows users to view locations of LWCF investments over the program’s 55-plus year history, and the Future Projects map shows proposed projects currently in need of LWCF funding.
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National Conservation Easement Database
Our National Conservation Easement Database (NCED) gathers records from both land trusts and public agencies in a public-private partnership. These data help organizations plan more strategically, identify opportunities for collaboration, advance public accountability, and raise awareness of what’s happening in conservation.
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ParkScore® City Rankings
Our ParkScore index is the most comprehensive comparison of park systems across the U.S. Updated every year, ParkScore ranks 100 of the most-populous cities in the country in five categories: equity, access, investment, amenities, and acreage.
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