Highlighting its commitment to maintaining the community’s trust in its conservation work, Woods and Waters Land Trust, a nonprofit protecting and connecting land and waterways in the Lower Kentucky River Watershed, has received renewal of its Land Trust Accreditation. This recognition from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission requires a rigorous examination of the organization’s practices and a proven ongoing commitment to permanent land conservation.
“Land conservation through Woods and Waters Land Trust is forever. Maintaining accreditation gives assurance to the community that we are a secure, financially stable land trust with a future,” said Heather Housman, board president of Woods and Waters Land Trust.
Since Woods and Waters Land Trust’s initial accreditation in 2017, the Performance Excellence Committee has been tasked every five years with leading the organization’s lengthy reaccreditation process. Performance Excellence Committee members are Woods and Waters Land Trust board secretary and Performance Excellence Committee chair Mary Margaret Lowe, Lee Troutwine, Kay Harker, Nancy Rose Osborne, Heather Housman, and Michelle Tackett Singer.
To maintain accreditation, The Woods and Waters Land Trust Performance Excellence Committee reviews protocols and records annually and provides extensive documentation to the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance. Earlier in 2022, the Land Trust Accreditation Commission held a public comment period and conducted a thorough review of Woods and Waters Land Trust’s policies and programs. Woods and Waters Land Trust then underwent a comprehensive third-party evaluation prior to being awarded renewal of this distinction.
"It is exciting to recognize Woods and Waters Land Trust’s continued commitment to national standards by renewing this national mark of distinction," said Melissa Kalvestrand, executive director of the Land Trust Accreditation Commission. "Donors and partners can trust the more than 450 accredited land trusts across the country are united behind strong standards and have demonstrated sound finances, ethical conduct, responsible governance, and lasting stewardship."
Lowe pointed out that Woods and Waters Land Trust chooses to be accredited through the Land Trust Alliance because it is considered the gold standard for land trust operations. “The Land Trust Alliance’s mission, ‘Save land. Strengthen communities. Create a healthier planet’, speaks to many of us in the land-conservation community,” she said.
Since 2007, Woods and Waters Land Trust has worked with private landowners in Henry, Owen, Shelby, and Franklin counties to protect more than 600 acres of land. In addition, the City of Frankfort has entrusted 34 acres of forest to the land trust as the Vaughn Branch Nature Preserve. All forested, these lands improve air and water quality, reduce runoff and erosion, and provide natural habitat for the many plant and animal species that make this area home. Learn more and get involved at woodsandwaterstrust.org.
Photo by Mitchell Stutler.
