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ACRES Land Trust updates mission statement

Posted by: Reena Ramos

  • 03/17/2020

ACRES Land Trust updates mission statement

ACRES founders spelled out, in a detailed half-page statement, how our mission would be achieved. Today, with 60 years of history, the ACRES mission statement has been refreshed to clarify the essentials of our original mission.

ACRES Land Trust owns and protects natural and working lands, inspiring people to value, appreciate, and support these places, for the benefit of all—today and forever.

Words matter. A few worth pondering:

“Owns” tells how we protect land. ACRES holds the deed to ensure permanent protection. We will never sell or transfer land we promise to protect.

“Working lands” clarifies that, in addition to natural places, ACRES protects land such as farmland and timber stands. (“Working lands” is not widely understood; your help getting the word out will make a difference.)

“For the benefit of all” sums up why we protect land and why protecting land works. Vital natural places are critical to the wellbeing of all communities: the lives of humans, plants, and animals are linked. Diverse motivations for protecting natural places and working lands come together, achieving more than we can measure.

“Today” is an essential prompt to take action. Without your participation right now, natural places existing today have little chance to thrive forever.

Photo by Janet Canino

2 Comments

JOHN KOHL - May 8, 2020 - 4:06 pm

Reply

I would like to know how you define the word "protects," because I am extremely disappointed that you are not protecting your preserves from invasive garlic mustard. Treasures such as Lonidaw and Bicentennial Woods are being ruined. I think you should stop acquiring land if you don't have the resources to truly protect what you already own.

Heather Barth - May 13, 2020 - 4:03 pm

Reply

Thanks for the note, John. ACRES mission is to protect local land, meaning specifically from development so that it remains in its natural state forever. There's no doubt that protecting more land means more work in caring for that land. We've increased our land management endowment over the years, invested in that team's resources and are constantly learning better techniques so that we are more nimble and responsive in this work. But there's always more to be done. Autumn olive, Japanese honeysuckle, multi-flora rose and garlic mustard...all seem to be a never ending battle. If you're interested in helping us please contact me at [email protected].

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