There is a dawning awareness in the land conservation community that permanence of land conservation rests, not with acquisition of lands, but with what follows acquisition: the dedication of organizations to maintain long-term stewardship of protected lands.

Given the relatively recent growth of private land conservation, most land trusts are only now facing stewardship challenges from the new-found realities of successor landowners, changes in surrounding lands, and the evolution of ecological understanding. Surveys conducted by the Land Trust Alliance in 1999 and 2004 chart an increase in conservation easement violations and enforcement activities. These trends are expected to persist. The adage “an ounce of prevention” holds particularly true for land trusts and other land conservation organizations – the best means to avoid costly enforcement issues is a dedicated focus on strengthening organizational vigilance and protection practices.

Over the past five years, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) has been working with land trusts in western Pennsylvania to promote community-driven conservation, ensure better stewardship strategies, and support sustained protection of natural resources. Through these partnerships PEC has created a set of assessment tools and informational documents which have become the basis of Sharing Stewardship. Recognizing there is a demonstrated need for this type of assistance on a much larger scale, PEC developed this Web site to provide a freely accessible, interactive, and user-friendly assessment resource for land conservation organizations. Our goal is to help ensure due diligence, sound stewardship, and organizational stability.

There is no “one size fits all” solution: each organization is unique, as is each protected land. Our hope is that the information and materials on this Web site will encourage and assist land conservation organizations in strengthening their own stewardship practices. We also hope that you, the user, will contribute your comments and suggestions for improving these materials and the site.

Sharing Stewardship is not designed or intended to supplant the invaluable efforts of other organizations, in particular, the Land Trust Alliance, including their pending Accreditation Program. This site is one of the many resources available, and we encourage land conservation organizations to avail themselves of all possible means and opportunities for improving their stewardship and organizational functions.