Land Trusts

Land trusts are generally nonprofit organizations that work with private landowners to protect land that the community values for conservation, recreation, or other public benefit. Land trusts use many tools to protect land, including acquiring land and conservation easements; developing conservation plans based on the landowners' goals, finances and tax circumstances; and educating the public about the importance of land stewardship. A conservation easement is a land trust's primary tool. An easement protects the natural values of a site permanently while keeping it in private ownership; the landowner retains ownership of the property and all rights and privileges for its use, except for the uses restricted under the easement.

In the Finger Lakes region, the Finger Lakes Land Trust is the primary land trust working to protect the area's natural resources. It holds many conservation easements and owns many nature preserves throughout the area. One creative way that the Finger Lakes Land Trust has devised to approach land conservation is through its Right of First Refusal Program where owners of important natural sites opt to give the Land Trust the opportunity to match a purchase offer received by the owner at a future time if and when they decide to sell the land.