Eastern Land Protection Project

Coldwater conservation resources, transaction funding and grassroots support for land trusts and chapters to protect and restore trout and salmon streams and watersheds.

TU’s Land Protection Project accelerates permanent protection of coldwater resources by (1) engaging sportsmen and women as advocates and supporters of land protection and restoration; (2) working with land trusts and grassroots to prioritize and permanently protect high quality trout and salmon streams; (3) bringing resources to the table such as the Conservation Success Index and the Coldwater Land Conservancy Fund for land transaction costs, and (4) reconnecting and restoring aquatic habitat on protected lands.

Why land protection?  TU’s grassroots members realized many years ago that supporting permanent protection of private and public lands was a key strategy in achieving TU’s vision “to ensure, by the next generation, that robust populations of native and wild coldwater fish once again thrive within their North American range...”  Over the years, TU has supported and participated in many land protection transactions.  The Land Protection Project was born from those grassroots endeavors and TU’s dedication of staff and funding resources solidifies the organization’s commitment to land protection.  With project staff in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Southern Appalachian Mountains and the Colorado Plateau and resources available to land trusts and TU volunteers nationwide, TU is stepping up to help protect coldwater streams and watersheds.

Why land trusts?  Because TU is not a land trust and does not have the specific mission of protecting and stewarding land in perpetuity, TU works with partners in the land trust community to carry out this highly specialized work.  TU brings a variety of tools and support to land trusts to help conserve coldwater streams and their watersheds.  By partnering with land trusts, TU can better help protect and restore critical coldwater habitat on private lands from development or incompatible land use practices.

TU chapters and their famously strong volunteer base can also play an important role in serving as caretakers of protected land by implementing restoration projects and by engaging the next generation of conservation-minded youth through educational projects.  Ultimately, adding the strength of sportsmen and women to land conservation initiatives will result in accelerated protection of important lands and the restoration of critical native and wild trout and salmon habitat.

Program Resources

• Native Trout and Salmon:   Key environmental indicators of pristine water and healthy watersheds bring funders and supporters to the table. Brook trout, Pacific salmon, and Apache trout are examples.
  
  
• Guidebooks and other resources for chapters and land trusts.  Provide TU volunteers, leaders and land trusts with insight to understanding each others’ work, and how TU can partner with land trusts to use land acquisition and conservation easements to achieve protection goals. Download the guides and other resources.
  
  
• Conservation Success Index (CSI): Science-based tool takes stream and watershed priorities to land trusts, funders and TU chapters. Explore the CSI.
  
  
• TU Chapters: Passionate sportsmen and women conservationists provide landowner connections, grassroots advocacy and on-the-ground restoration project support.  Find a TU Chapter or Council.
  
  
• TU Land Protection Staff: Facilitate collaborations, support funding applications, provide project support, and help identify and raise sources of transaction funding.  See regional focus area pages for staff contact information.
  
  
• Land Transaction and Restoration Grant Programs: Coldwater Land Conservancy Fund and Embrace-A-Stream help protect and restore land important to trout and salmon.
  
  
• Land trusts: Find you local land trust and talk to them about land protection for coldwater streams and watersheds.

Focus Areas

• Chesapeake Bay Watershed
• Southern Appalachian Mountains
• New England states (on a case by case basis)
• Colorado Plateau - coming soon