With each protected property comes the important and permanent responsibility to steward our conserved lands. Responsible stewardship is essential to ensure protected properties retain their vital ecological values.Â
Stewardship takes many forms. Sometimes stewardship involves managing our protected properties to care for and improve their ecological functions. Other times stewardship involves maintaining relationships with families who own the private properties we have protected through conservation easements to ensure our conservation agreements are upheld over time.
Our full-time Stewardship Director visits each of our protected properties at least once a year, sometimes more often, for properties we own and care for.Â
Whether it’s water quality, agricultural soils, important habitats for native plants and animals, scenic lands, or historic properties, our stewardship plan for each property is tailored to protect and monitor the special features being protected.
With each protected property, PLC ensures we have the financial resources in our Stewardship Endowment to adequately care for these protected lands in perpetuity.