Message from the Executive Director

Even though I am immersed in the work of protecting land and nature every day, and spend countless hours each year on CPF trails and properties, I still feel a deep need to escape into nature to reset and recenter. This September, I was able to do that in the Mountain West, at a Colorado ranch 8,900 feet above sea level and 15 miles from the nearest paved road. 

The quiet was unlike anything we experience here on the East Coast, except perhaps on those very still winter days when the snow is falling steadily in the woods, muting every sound. As I reconnected with that landscape of big mountains, juniper, sage, mule deer, and aspen, I realized that I hadn’t seen stars like that in years—even in the Adirondacks, we can’t see the Milky Way so clearly.  

As lovely and rejuvenating as that time in Colorado was, my primary reason for visiting was to attend Rally, the national land conservation conference, for the first time. Much like the annual New York State land conservation conference, which I have attended regularly for many years, Rally left me inspired by my fellow land trust leaders and the work being done by land trusts across the country. 

I also came away with a renewed appreciation of how CPF fits into a larger movement. Each land trust works diligently in its own community to conserve forests, grasslands, wetlands, working lands, and open space, while contributing to a shared conservation outcome and the collective results are impressive. Together, the approximately 1,200 land trusts working across the country have conserved over 61,000,000 acres of private land. 

I recall being pleasantly surprised, when I first began working in the land trust sector, at the openness with which land trusts worked collaboratively, sharing best practices, information, and resources—things that might be considered “trade secrets” in other sectors where competition for clients or customers is a driving influence. 

In our case, as land trust staff, donors, and volunteers, we all share one dream—to conserve and connect the critical landscapes that are important for people and for nature, for generations to come. Thank you for being part of that shared vision and for making it possible to turn our collective dream of conservation into a lasting reality.

Jen Wong
CPF Executive Director