Vermont Land Trust - Overview and History

VLT Overview & History

For more information, see: Q & A

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Vermont Land Trust is to conserve land for the future of Vermont.

VISION STATEMENT

Vermont is endowed with a landscape where human life and enterprise thrive in relationship with nature. This relationship shapes our state's character and our rural settlement pattern of compact villages and towns surrounded by fields, waterways, and forested hillsides. These natural assets remain remarkably intact, but they are threatened.

Our farms—the essence of rural Vermont—are disappearing. Other productive, recreational, and scenic lands are being lost irrevocably to careless or unplanned growth. Continuation of these trends will extinguish future choices for Vermont, including participation in new forms of agriculture and tourism. The heritage of our landscape and communities is essential to our state's economy and well-being.

To a large extent, our economic choices will determine the future relationship between nature and the human community. Economic growth can take Vermonters in many directions. The Vermont Land Trust believes the sustainable path -- one which uses the interest generated by our natural assets without eroding the principal -- will allow for both economic growth and the conservation of our exceptional landscape and the quality of life it supports. This path encourages farming, forestry, and wilderness and reflects Vermont's traditional values.

In the true role of a trust -- caring for valuable resources -- we are working to conserve productive, recreational, and scenic lands to assure for all generations this treasure that is Vermont.

HISTORY (last updated 10/31/05)

The Early Years
In 1977 a group of citizens in the Woodstock region, who were concerned about the loss of open space to development, formed the Ottauquechee Regional Land Trust. These founders were motivated by the fear that, despite Act 250 and local zoning and subdivision regulations, productive farm and forest land was continuing to be fragmented and converted to other uses. The Vermont Land Trust, which used voluntary conservation agreements with landowners, was seen as one way of trying to preserve the rural character of the region.

ORLT initially established its area of operation as the watershed of the Ottauquechee River. It devoted its early years toward defining and publicizing its mission, developing the language of its conservation easement and other legal documents, and building its membership and financial base. In 1980 it hired founder Rick Carbin as its first executive director. Almost immediately the Vermont Land Trust plunged into several major projects, including some that lay outside of the Ottauquechee region. Early accomplishments included the purchase and protection of the former Woodstock Country School property in South Woodstock, the conversion of the Boy Scouts’ Camp Plymouth to a state park, and the acquisition of a conservation easement on 1,000 acres in Tinmouth. It also assisted the National Park Service in negotiating the purchase of easements for the Appalachian Trail from Sherburne to Norwich.

As word of its success spread, the Vermont Land Trust began to receive inquiries from throughout Vermont. It established offices in Montpelier and Dummerston so that the staff could work more closely with landowners and local communities. It assisted in the protection of Shelburne Farms in Shelburne, the Rhodes Farm in Brattleboro, the McKnight Farm in East Montpelier, and numerous other projects both inside and outside of the Ottauquechee Region. By the mid-'80s, it had conserved 6,650 acres of land, the staff had grown to six, and the organization had changed its name to the Vermont Land Trust.

Vermont Housing and Conservation Trust
One of VLT’s most significant accomplishments was its leading role in the creation of the Vermont Housing & Conservation Trust Fund in 1987. Bringing together a coalition of land conservation and affordable housing organizations, VLT and its partners succeeded in creating a public funding source for both objectives. By December 31, 2001, the trust fund had been instrumental in conserving more than 333,000 acres of land and creating over 6,600 units of perpetually affordable housing throughout Vermont. VHCTF is one of the most remarkable examples of public and private partnerships in the nation.

VLT Regions Expand
As the volume and scope of its activities expanded, VLT opened other field offices around the State. The Mettowee Valley Conservation Project was launched in 1986 with the assistance of the John Merck Fund to focus on farm conservation in Pawlet, Rupert and Dorset. In 1989 the Champlain Valley office opened to work with farmers in Vermont’s most highly agricultural region. The Mountain Valley office was established in 1992 in response to growing interest in land conservation in Weston and surrounding communities. Finally, VLT created offices for the Southwest Region (later merged with the Mettowee Valley office) and for the Northeast Kingdom to coordinate new initiatives in both those regions.

By 1990, VLT had completed some 200 projects, conserved 25,300 acres of land, and had a staff of 15. Some of the projects, such as the Martin Farms in Rochester, Brassknocker Farm in East Craftsbury and Theron Boyd House in Quechee, had involved a high degree of risk, and were putting the organization under considerable financial strain. In that year the trustees decided to move VLT’s headquarters to Montpelier to allow greater access to government decision makers and other statewide organizations. At the same time, it established a stewardship office in Woodstock to look after the growing number of conserved lands in its portfolio.

Strategic Directions
VLT’s first strategic plan, adopted in 1992, confirmed the direction of decentralizing the project staff while strengthening the administrative and support staff in Montpelier, launching a planned giving program, reducing debt, and building the stewardship program.

As VLT’s farmland protection program matured, the agricultural community became increasingly comfortable with the concept of selling development rights. The number of applications began to substantially outpace the availability of funds. With competition, the quality of the projects improved. Vermont Housing and Conservation Trust Fund continued to enjoy strong support from the Governor and the Legislature, despite the recession of the early '90s. New sources of federal support emerged, such as Farms for the Future, Forest Legacy, ISTEA and the Farmland Protection Program. VLT was able to leverage public funds through bargain sales, foundation support and private contributions.

The middle and late years of the 1990s saw phenomenal growth for land conservation in general and the Vermont Land Trust in particular. One principal factor was the arrival of the Freeman Foundation. In five years from 1994 through 1998, the Foundation poured $36 million into land conservation and historic preservation efforts in Vermont. Nearly two-thirds of those funds were administered by the Vermont Land Trust.

Because of the Freemans’ generosity, VLT was able to take on new kinds of projects, including the conservation of large working-forest tracts in northern Vermont, significant habitat lands between Vermont’s two national forests, and a wide variety of community projects throughout the state. The Foundation asked VLT to work with local land trusts in developing project applications and assist them in completing those that were approved for funding. In response to the increasing workload and with the assistance of the Freeman Foundation and John Merck Fund, VLT was able to make needed additions to its legal and stewardship staff, strengthen its information and financial management systems, improve its fundraising and communications programs, and shift the role of the Board of Trustees from approving projects to setting policies that will guide the organization into the future.

A Record of Accomplishments
VLT’s record of accomplishment has been impressive. It took VLT 15 years to conserve its first 50,000 acres, which is roughly one percent of Vermont’s privately-owned open space. As of June 2007, VLT has helped protect more than 465,000 acres throughout Vermont, including 615 working farms.

VLT has built a team of dedicated and experienced professionals who have a reputation of being creative, open, flexible and willing to collaborate and build partnerships with many different organizations and interest groups in Vermont. Through its trustees and staff, VLT has helped build strong support for land conservation within state government, the farm community and the general public. Looking ahead, it appears that the pace of conservation is quickening. VLT is seeing continuing strong demand from farmers, new interest within the forestry community, new initiatives from local land trusts and conservation commissions, and a surge of inquiries from landowners who wish to donate conservation easements on their lands.

VLT is recognized nationally as a leader in the land trust movement. With the continued support of its members, major funders, and people in the state of Vermont, it hopes to remain at the cutting edge of land conservation for many decades to come.

OPERATING PRINCIPLES

In its land conservation work VLT is responsive to local initiatives, landowner needs and local and regional planning. VLT seeks to build public-private partnerships and coalitions with other interests that influence land use decisions. For example, VLT actively works with groups involved with agriculture, forestry, tourism, outdoor recreation, historic preservation, and affordable housing.

VLT is an advocate for land protection. We will take necessary measures to enforce legally binding conservation restrictions. In addition to our emphasis on saving productive lands and keeping future land use options open, we promote environmentally sound and sustainable land use.

VLT establishes land conservation priorities and delivers services locally. Professional and support services are provided centrally. This arrangement provides the flexibility and creativity to act quickly and innovatively. These are important capabilities that can mean the difference between success and failure. VLT's field and project staff —in close contact with their communities—are responsible for developing the organization’s conservation opportunities.