Land trusts have conserved about 61 million acres across the United States, combining private land protection with public access, working-land preservation, education, and community programs. The figures below describe the national land trust movement, with dates and geographic scope kept explicit so that historic totals are not mistaken for current estimates.
Contents
- National conservation footprint
- Public access and community use
- Organizations, people, and accreditation
- Farmland and ranchland protection
- Grants, training, and organizational support
- Advocacy, climate work, and conservation policy
National conservation footprint
The Land Trust Alliance reports that land trusts have conserved 61,072,596 acres nationwide. This United States total is presented by the Alliance as the land trust movement’s conservation footprint. [United States - Land Trust Alliance]
The 2020 National Land Trust Census reported 61 million acres conserved at the end of 2020. The Alliance described that total as more than 15 million acres higher than the 2010 total. [61 Million Acres Voluntarily Conserved in America, 2020 National Land Trust Census Report Reveals - Land Trust Alliance]
Several annual-report figures show how the reported total changed across recent measurement points:
| Measurement point | Reported conservation figure | Source label |
|---|---|---|
| Year-end 2019 | 56 million acres | Annual Report 2020 - Land Trust Alliance |
| Year-end 2020 | 61 million acres | 61 Million Acres Voluntarily Conserved in America, 2020 National Land Trust Census Report Reveals - Land Trust Alliance |
| Nationwide total reported by the Alliance | 61,072,596 acres | United States - Land Trust Alliance |
These are not interchangeable time series. The 56-million-acre figure is annual-report context for year-end 2019, the 61-million-acre figure is the 2020 census result, and 61,072,596 acres is the Alliance’s nationwide figure without a measurement date stated in the supplied source label. The 2020 census also provides the explicit comparison that the total was more than 15 million acres above 2010.
The Alliance’s 2023 annual report challenged the land trust community to protect another 60 million acres by the end of the decade. That number is a movement goal, not an amount already conserved. [Annual Report 2023 - Land Trust Alliance]
Land trusts are a substantial part of voluntary private conservation. The Alliance says there are 1,281 land trusts nationwide, while 950 are members of the Alliance. [About land trusts - Land Trust Alliance; Voluntary Private Land Conservation 101 - Land Trust Alliance]
Public access and community use
Conservation does not always mean that every protected property is open to everyone. The Land Trust Alliance says 80 percent of land trusts provide public access to their lands. Those public-access lands total 1.2 million acres. [About land trusts - Land Trust Alliance; Annual Report 2021 - Land Trust Alliance]
The movement’s public-use infrastructure includes 9,761 miles of trails. Of those miles, 997 are designed for universal access. [United States - Land Trust Alliance] The universal-access figure represents a defined portion of the broader trail total; the source does not state that every mile is accessible to every visitor.
Land trusts welcomed 16,745,435 visitors in 2020. The Alliance’s 2021 annual report rounds the same year to 16.7 million visitors. [Get involved with a land trust - Land Trust Alliance; Annual Report 2021 - Land Trust Alliance] Because both figures refer to 2020, they should be read as one visitor measure rather than two separate totals.
Programs and activities reached 6.4 million participants in 2020. The same figure appears in the 2020 census reporting and in the Alliance’s 2021 annual report. [Counting what matters - Land Trust Alliance; Annual Report 2021 - Land Trust Alliance]
Community engagement was also a reported organizational priority. The 2020 census found that 76 percent of land trusts had increased their focus on community engagement during the previous five years. [Counting what matters - Land Trust Alliance] The Alliance repeats the same 76 percent figure in its membership materials. [Why become a member of the Land Trust Alliance - Land Trust Alliance]
Organizations, people, and accreditation
The Alliance represents approximately 1,000 member land trusts and affiliates. Its 2022 annual report describes the broader community as backed by 250,000 volunteers and 6.3 million members and financial supporters. [Land Trust Alliance, Open Space Institute award 2024 grants to accelerate climate planning nation-wide - Land Trust Alliance; Annual Report 2022 - Land Trust Alliance]
The 2022 report also counted 12,000 full- and part-time land trust staff and 13,000 land trust board members. [Annual Report 2022 - Land Trust Alliance] Together, those figures show that the movement’s capacity includes paid work, volunteer support, financial supporters, and governance roles, although they are reported as separate categories and should not be added into a single headcount.
Accreditation figures increased from 453 land trusts in the 2021 annual report to 465 in the 2022 report. [Annual Report 2021 - Land Trust Alliance; Annual Report 2022 - Land Trust Alliance] The 2022 report says accredited land trusts protected 81 percent of all land and easements held by land trusts, representing 23,240,764 acres. [Annual Report 2022 - Land Trust Alliance]
Terrafirma, the Alliance’s conservation defense insurance program, insured 10,212,190 acres in 2021 and 10,274,441 acres in 2022. The 2022 figure covered 554 land trust members in 48 states. [Annual Report 2021 - Land Trust Alliance; Annual Report 2022 - Land Trust Alliance]
The movement also convened practitioners. Rally 2021 brought together 2,700 conservationists virtually. Rally 2022 brought more than 1,500 conservationists to New Orleans, while its advocacy days included 165 advocates from 31 states and more than 110 in-person congressional meetings. [Annual Report 2021 - Land Trust Alliance; Annual Report 2022 - Land Trust Alliance]
Farmland and ranchland protection
The American Farmland Trust’s 2022 Nationwide Survey of Land Trusts that Protect Farmland and Ranch Land collected activity reports from 228 land trusts. As of January 2022, those land trusts reported just over 6 million acres of protected farmland and ranchland nationwide. [2022 Nationwide Survey of Land Trusts that Protect Farmland and Ranch Land - American Farmland Trust]
The survey reported a 35 percent increase from the total acres protected by land trusts in 2017 and a 21 percent increase in the rate of agricultural land protected between 2017 and 2022. [2022 Nationwide Survey of Land Trusts that Protect Farmland and Ranch Land - American Farmland Trust] The source describes these as survey comparisons; it does not provide enough detail here to convert them into a new acreage total.
The January 2022 agricultural-land figures were divided between fee ownership and conservation easements:
| Protection type | Count | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| Farms and ranches owned in fee | 393 | 97,813 |
| Easements protecting farmland and ranchland | 12,957 | 5,917,910 |
| Total farmland and ranchland protected | — | 6,015,723 |
Source: 2022 Nationwide Survey of Land Trusts that Protect Farmland and Ranch Land - American Farmland Trust.
The survey found that 70 percent of protected agricultural land was acquired through fee or easement purchases. The remaining 30 percent was accomplished through land or easement donations. [2022 Nationwide Survey of Land Trusts that Protect Farmland and Ranch Land - American Farmland Trust]
These agricultural figures are a focused survey result, not a replacement for the broader national conservation total. They cover farmland and ranchland reported by participating land trusts as of January 2022, while the broader Alliance figures cover land trusts’ overall conservation footprint.
Grants, training, and organizational support
The Alliance reported $2,490,153 in grants in its 2021 annual report, including $2,000,000 awarded directly to land trusts. Of the 2021 grant activity, $219,000 went to 18 land trusts for remote monitoring. The report says grants supported clean water, climate change solutions, remote monitoring, capacity building, education, and other work. [Annual Report 2021 - Land Trust Alliance]
The Alliance awarded $7.5 million in grants to 209 land trusts in 2022. In 2023, it awarded $5.5 million to 241 land trusts. Since 2010, the Alliance says its grant programs had delivered $27.6 million for conservation work, leadership, training, and resources. [Annual Report 2022 - Land Trust Alliance; Annual Report 2023 - Land Trust Alliance]
Learning activity also expanded across several formats. In 2022, the Alliance offered 3,643 webinars, classes, and trainings totaling more than 5,000 hours of learning. The Wentworth Leadership program reached 426 executive directors and board members, and the Alliance’s report says the program changed more than 25,000 lives. Scholars for Conservation Leadership reached 28 students and logged more than 500 mentor touchpoints in 2022. [Annual Report 2022 - Land Trust Alliance]
In 2023, the Alliance offered more than 40 webinars and made 70 practical pointers available through its Resource Center. Rally 2023 included 113 workshops, 15 seminars, more than 50 hours of peer networking, and 323 presenters. More than 2,220 attendees came from all 50 states and four countries. [Annual Report 2023 - Land Trust Alliance]
Rally 2023 also awarded scholarships totaling $72,250 to 101 organizations and stipends totaling $76,100 to 54 individuals. [Annual Report 2023 - Land Trust Alliance]
In 2024, more than 4,500 practitioners participated in 45 online courses and seminars, alongside 18 regional training sessions. The Alliance hosted three conferences, and Rally 2024 drew 2,337 attendees in Providence, Rhode Island. Scholarships and stipends totaling $185,930 helped 64 people and 114 organizations attend Rally 2024. [Annual Report 2024 - Land Trust Alliance]
Advocacy, climate work, and conservation policy
Climate change became a stronger focus for many land trusts. The 2020 census found that 74 percent had increased their focus on climate change during the previous five years. [61 Million Acres Voluntarily Conserved in America, 2020 National Land Trust Census Report Reveals - Land Trust Alliance; Counting what matters - Land Trust Alliance]
The Alliance’s 2025 evaluation reported that its Land and Climate Program had provided 230 trainings since 2017, delivered 1,900 hours of technical assistance, and provided more than $1.2 million in grant funding to land trusts since 2017. Ninety percent of Land and Climate grantees reported increased capacity to address climate change. [Annual Report 2025 - Land Trust Alliance]
The 2024 Land and Climate Grant Program awarded $213,000 to 18 land trusts and other nonprofits. Its Disability Access, Inclusion and Leadership grant awarded $118,000 to 10 land trusts. [Annual Report 2024 - Land Trust Alliance]
The Alliance also reported that land trusts engaging deeply with member services protected almost twice as many acres as less-engaged peers over five years. That is a comparative finding from the 2025 report, not a nationwide acreage total. The same report noted registrants across 49 webinars for staff, volunteers, and board members. [Annual Report 2025 - Land Trust Alliance]
Policy activity produced several measurable outcomes. The 2024 policy fly-in brought 130 land trust leaders from 33 states to Washington, D.C.; those leaders held 200 congressional meetings. In 2024, 22 ballot measures across 13 states passed and will convey nearly $18 billion to conservation. [Annual Report 2024 - Land Trust Alliance]
Rally 2023 drew participants from all 50 states and four countries, while the Alliance’s conservation-defense team monitored 450 court cases and spent more than 1,400 hours speaking one-on-one with land trust staff and board members. [Annual Report 2023 - Land Trust Alliance]
State-level partnership can also produce long-running conservation results. The New York State Conservation Partnership Program had helped deliver grants that conserved 1.4 million acres since 2002. [Annual Report 2025 - Land Trust Alliance]