Land Trust Accreditation

SWMLC seeks public input on Land Trust Accreditation

In mid November, SWMLC will submit an application to the Land Trust Accreditation Commission (Commission) seeking to become an accredited land conservancy and join the over 130 land trusts throughout the nation who have already secured this coveted status. As part of the process, the Commission invites public input and accepts signed, written comments on pending applications. 

"We have been able to do some really great conservation work during the past 20 years to help protect the character and ecological integrity of southwest Michigan,” stated Pete Ter Louw.  “Becoming an accredited land trust will help us improve SWMLC as an organization in our capacity to do more and will strengthen us for the future.”

The land trust accreditation program recognizes land conservation organizations that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. Accreditation not only helps land trusts meet their land protection goals it helps ensure the strength of the tools that land trusts have to protect land.

The Commission uses over 25 different “indicator practices” as standards for assessing what an applicant land trust does well or needs to improve on. The accreditation process involves a review of every aspect of a land trust’s operations including its policies and procedures, long term management strategies, fundraising, and finances and record-keeping, as well as the details of the actual conservation projects it undertakes.

Comments must relate to how SWMLC complies with national quality standards.  The standards address the ethical and technical operation of a land trust.  For the full list of standards, see www.landtrustaccreditation.org/getting-addredited/indicator-practices.

To learn more about the accreditation program and to submit a comment, visit www.landtrustaccreditation.org.  Comments may also be faxed or mailed to the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, Attn: Public Comments; (fax) 518-587-3183; (mail) 112 Spring Street, Suite 204, Saratoga Springs, NY  12866.  Comments on Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy’s application will be most useful by January 1, 2012.