OUR MISSION and GOVERNANCE -
       Founded in 1995, the West Virginia Land Trust is a statewide nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization dedicated to protecting the rural and wildlands that give West Virginia its distinctive character, to preserving the state’s historic sites and urban greenspaces, to assisting the preservation goals of local land trusts, and to fostering an appreciation and stewardship of West Virginia’s environment.
       A land trust, as all or part of its mission, actively works to conserve land by undertaking or assisting in land or conservation easement acquisition, or by its stewardship of such land or easements. To date, the Land Trust has protected over 2,000 acres in West Virginia. We offer educational seminars to professionals in land conservation work, and speak to small garden clubs and statewide conferences about the importance of land protection.
       A 12-member Board of Directors governs the Trust. Each director brings unique perspective, knowledge, and experience to the organization. Our directors are geographically diverse, and represent farmland preservation, cave conservancy, the practice of law, fiscal management, and professional experience at the local, state, and national levels in conservation work.

OUR VISION --
       The WVLT recently completed an extensive board planning effort to establish the ten-year vision for the organization. We also established a concrete work plan to advance that vision over the next three years. We believe that today’s work must be in the context of tomorrow’s dreams and goals.
       In the year 2015, the WVLT will have:

1. Become recognized as a state leader in land conservation by protecting significant land of high public value and high conservation value, especially large contiguous areas. We will do this both by our own efforts, and by partnering with other land trusts.
2. Led the development of a statewide, coordinated land conservation program.

OUR STANDARDS -
       The WVLT is a sponsoring member of the Land Trust Alliance (LTA), and has adopted LTA standards and practices for operation. The Alliance is a national organization promoting voluntary private land conservation to benefit communities and natural systems. It is the national convener, strategist and representative of more than 1,500 land trusts across America.
       These standards are available at www.lta.org, and ensure the long-term protection of land in the public interest through responsible governance, sound and sustainable land transactions and stewardship, ethical operations, accountability to donors and the public, and compliance with all laws.

FUNDING –
       The Land Trust depends on private donations to support its operations, and has received numerous grants for specific project work. The WV Department of Natural Resources, the Dupont Greenways Fund, the National Park Service, West Virginia University, the Canaan Valley Institute, the Trust for Public Land, the Coopers Rock Foundation, the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation, the Sustainable Communities Initiative, the National Resources Conservation Services, and Dow Chemical have all provided grant funds to the Trust.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND STAFF OFFICERS

West Virginia Land Trust Board of Directors 2006

Officers

• Calvert Armbrecht, President
• John Barrett, Vice-President
• J. Breckenridge Martin, Secretary
• Craig Slaughter, Treasurer

Directors

• Dave Cowan
• Richard Donovan
• Lynda Frost
• Rod Graves
• Jackie Hallinan
• Mark Scott
• Susan Shumaker
• Lisa Lewis Smith
• Staff: Terrell Ellis & Associates
         www.te-associates.com

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