Land trust wins key approval

Times Leader staff

The North Branch Land Trust in Carverton recently became one of 39 land trusts in the country to be awarded accredited status from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission.

The status means the trust met national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever, according to Tammara Van Ryn, executive director of the commission.

“The accreditation seal lets the public know that the accredited land trust has undergone an extensive, external review of the governance and management of its organization and the systems and policies it uses to protect land,” she said.

Dr. Doug Ayers, chairman of the NBLT, said the achievement demonstrates the organization’s commitment to permanent land conservation. Since its founding in 1993, the NBLT has helped conserve 7,167 acres through conservation easements, and another 671 acres through fee ownership, in eight counties: Susquehanna, Bradford, Wyoming, Luzerne, Sullivan, Lackawanna, Wayne and Columbia. The group focuses its efforts on conserving the agricultural heritage and watershed lands that frame the North Branch of the Susquehanna River.

“Our land trust is a stronger organization today having gone through the rigorous accreditation program,” Ayers said.

The 39 land trusts were awarded accreditation at a special ceremony on Sept. 19 in Pittsburgh. The event represented the largest gathering of land conservationists in the country.

Accredited land trusts are able to display a seal indicating to the public that they meet national standards for excellence, uphold the public trust and ensure that conservation efforts are permanent. The seal is a mark of distinction in land conservation.

“North Branch Land Trust is proud to display the accreditation seal,” Ayers said. “It’s confirmation that the land trust and its programs meet very rigorous standards, and we feel honored to be among the first land trusts in the United States to have earned it. Northeastern Pennsylvania’s farms and forests and watershed lands – our food, our drinking water, our flood protection – are threatened by poorly planned development and other activities. It’s now more important than ever to have a strong and dedicated organization that gives landowners a way to conserve their lands forever for the benefit of future generations.”