Founded in 1995, the West Virginia Land Trust (Land Trust) is the only statewide nonprofit 501 (C) 3 land trust dedicated to protecting West Virginia’s natural lands and scenic areas forever. Through voluntary conservation easements, the Land Trust has protected thousands of acres throughout West Virginia.

Conservation easements preserve our rapidly vanishing countryside, wetlands, farms and forests. Unlike some organizations which specialize in specific conservation values, our mission is to conserve special places that gives our state its distinctive character. That means that we may consider scenic, wildlife, botanical, recreational, or historic conservation values when evaluating a project. The Land Trust works with property owners to determine the best conservation approach for each. While our preferred approach is through the donation of conservation easements, there are other options we may consider, including the purchase of easements, or the outright purchase of property.

The West Virginia Land Trust (Land Trust) promotes a non-confrontational, cooperative approach to land conservation. We believe our long-term objectives can best be reached by building relationships and consensus across diverse communities. By educating people about the conservation tools available for their use and empowering them to make appropriate decisions regarding community planning, we work in collaboration to fulfill West Virginia’s conservation needs.