We strive to keep a library of resources available at a click to Wisconsin land trusts. Below are documents to download and links to other information useful to land trust boards and staff.
A note about what's on this page - this resource library is a work in progress. We strive to keep ourselves updated on resources within the following categories:
Land trust governance & non profit operation
Conservation easements, in particular
And, of course, funding
If you have suggestions about what resources your land trust would like to have available here, please let us know. Contact Land Trust Programs Director Kate Zurlo-Cuva 608-251-9131 x 12 or kate[at]gatheringwaters.org. Thanks!
A note about what's not on this web page - The Land Trust Alliance's Learning Center is an extensive online library of resources for land trusts. We do not aim to re-create their library. Instead, we've culled information and resources especially helpful or important to land trusts in Wisconsin.
There are several fundamental elements to running an effective, sustainable land trust organization. The Land Trust Alliance, a national organization which serves the land trust community, has compiled these fundamentals into a guidebook called Land Trust Standards and Practices.
Learn more about Land Trust Standards and Practices
Nearly all of Wisconsin's land trusts have signed the Wisconsin Land Trust Statement of Principles Resolution, a document which holds us “to dedicate ourselves to the protection of local, regional and statewide natural resources which contribute to the ecological, social and economic well being of our communities.”
Download a PDF of the Statement of Principles
WI DNR Tenancy Agreement (for use as a sample)
WI DNR Real Estate Contract & Appraisal Report Guidelines
Project Selection Guidelines (from Natural Heritage Land Trust)
Sample Agreement-to-Proceed letter for a donated conservation easement
Record-Keeping resources:
Easement creation resources:
Baseline resources:
Monitoring resources:
Land trust defense and enforcement of conserved areas (an article from UW-Madison Professors Rissman & Van Butsic on land trust legal challenges, Conservation Letters, Sept 2010)
A List of Signage Vendors for your preserves as well as a review of the law governing Stewardship signage.
Land management policy sample (from Door County Land Trust)
Safety policy template (from Mississippi Valley Conservancy)
This Wisconsin state program provides matching funds to municipalities or non-profit organizations for the purchase of land or conservation easements. Protection priorities include wildlife habitat, lands with specific ecological value, stream corridors, land for state trails, and the restoration of wetlands and grasslands.
These grants provide state cost sharing assistance for planning, protecting and restoring local river systems. Counties, towns, cities, villages, tribes, and other local government units, as well as non-profit groups and qualified river management organizations are eligible to apply.
The Federal Farm and Ranchland Protection Program (FRPP) is administered by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and provides matching funds to a state, tribe, local government, or non-profit organization to purchase conservation easements or development rights on working farms and ranches. For more information, see also Wisconsin’s NRCS web site.
Wisconsin has several types of lake grants available to qualified lake organizations and municipalities. These grants are for the protection and improvement of water quality in lakes and their ecosystems.
photo courtesy of Evan Eifler
