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Allegheny Land Trust Earns National Recognition
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The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, announced recently the Allegheny Land Trust has been awarded accredited status. ALT is one of 10 accredited land trusts in Pennsylvania to receive this status.
Allegheny Land Trust was awarded accreditation on December 15, and is one of 113 land trusts out of a national membership of 1700 that has been awarded accreditation since the fall of 2008. 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.
“Accredited land trusts meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever,” said Commission Executive Director Tammara Van Ryn. “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.”
ALT’s accredited status demonstrates our commitment to the highest standards of professional practice,” says Roy Kraynyk, Executive Director of ALT. “Our land trust is a stronger organization today by participating in the rigorous accreditation program.”
Allegheny Land Trust is an independent Pennsylvania nonprofit 510(c)(3) organization incorporated in 1993 to protect land of natural value in and adjacent to Allegheny County. ALT helps local people save local land that contributes to the scenic, recreational, educational and environmental well-being of communities in Allegheny County and its environs. ALT has protected more than 1,500 acres in Allegheny and Washington Counties.
Across the country, local citizens and communities have come together to form land trusts to save the places they love. Community leaders in land trusts throughout the country have worked with willing landowners to save over 37 million acres of farms, forests, parks and places people care about. Strong, well-managed land trusts provide local communities with effective champions and caretakers of their critical land resources, and safeguard the land through the generations.
The Land Trust Accreditation Commission awards the accreditation seal to community institutions that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. The Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance established in 2006, is governed by a volunteer board of diverse land conservation and nonprofit management experts from around the country. The Alliance, of which ALT is a member, is a national conservation group based in Washington, D.C. that works to save the places people love by strengthening conservation throughout America.
“Being awarded accreditation required a huge effort by the staff and Board of ALT and we are very proud of this achievement, says Kraynyk. Accreditation empowers ALT to advance our mission with confidence and gives our stakeholders the same confidence that their support is well-invested. I would like to thank everyone who helped to make this achievement possible, including The Heinz Endowments for their generous support.”
The Endowments awarded $25,000 to Allegheny Land Trust to participate in the accreditation process which supports the Endowments efforts to make southwestern Pennsylvania a premier place to live and work, a center for learning and educational excellence, and a region that embraces diversity and inclusion.
For more information, visit the Allegheny Land Trust website.
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1/3/2011 |
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