{{COI, date=August 2011 The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy (GTRLC) is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

based in

Traverse City, Michigan Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was ...

. It is an independent organization with its own by-laws, policies, board, staff, and budget. The organization is funded by private donors as well as local, state, and national foundations. The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy has a volunteer Board of Directors and a professional year-round, full-time professional staff.

Foundation

In 1991, Rotary Charities of Traverse City determined that protecting natural resources was critical to the region's quality of life and created a four-county steering committee designed to establish a local land trust. As a result, the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy was born. Since then, the organization has worked to protect the important and significant landscapes that make Michigan's Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, and Manistee counties unique.

Mission

The GTRLC focuses land conservation efforts to permanently protect crucial wildlife habitat and corridors; critical watersheds, which protect the water quality of northern Michigan; unique high-quality farm lands; valuable forestland; and ecologically significant dunes along

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

's beautiful and endangered shore. We protect land in several ways: * By working with landowners to permanently protect private land through voluntary conservation

easements An easement is a nonpossessory right to use and/or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B". An easement is a property ...

* By acquiring high quality natural lands; some of these lands are the "best of the best" and become nature preserves which are open to the public * By assisting local units of government with land transfers that result in enhanced public access to nature and improved recreational opportunities * By providing technical assistance to local units of government with the administration of farmland protection programs

Accomplishments

As of early 2020, the Conservancy had protected roughly 44,000 acres of natural, scenic, and farm lands and over 130 miles of shoreline along the region's exceptional rivers, lakes, and streams through land acquisition, conservation easements, and land transfers. The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy has assisted more than a dozen units of government in creating or expanding public natural areas and parks. Since 1991, the organization has helped secure over $67 million from the

Michigan Department of Natural Resources The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appointed by the Governor a ...

Trust Fund on behalf of community-led land conservation efforts across its service region.

State and national partners

The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy is one of many independent

land trust Land trusts are nonprofit organizations which own and manage land, and sometimes waters. There are three common types of land trust, distinguished from one another by the ways in which they are legally structured and by the purposes for which th ...

s across the U.S. GTRLC's work is part of a broader network of conservation. GTRLC is a member of the Heart of the Lakes Center for Land Conservation, which acts as a legislative liaison in the State of Michigan and coordinates and promotes sound land preservation policies. GTRLC is also a member of the

Land Trust Alliance Land Trust Alliance is a nature conservation organization, based in Washington, D.C. The Alliance represents many land trusts across the United States. History Originally formed as the Land Trust Exchange in Boston on February 22, 1982, Allan Sp ...

, a Washington, D.C.-based organization which performs a similar role with the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

and appropriate departments of the Federal Government.

External links

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy's Website
Environmental organizations based in Michigan Land trusts in the United States Protected areas of Michigan 1991 establishments in Michigan Organizations established in 1991