Strong commitment to conservation excellence and responsible governance recognized
One thing that unites us as a nation is land: Americans strongly support saving the natural spaces they love. Since 1972, the Granby Land Trust (GLT) has been doing just that for the people of Granby. Now the land trust is excited to announce it has renewed its land trust accreditation, proving once again that it is committed to conservation excellence.
“Renewing our national accreditation shows the Granby Land Trust’s ongoing commitment to permanent land conservation in Granby,” said GLT President Rick Orluk. “We are a stronger organization having gone through the rigorous accreditation renewal process directed by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission. Our strength means special places—places like the Mary Edwards Mountain Property, the Dewey Granby Oak, 277 acres of West Granby’s Holcomb Farm that are protected by a GLT conservation easement, the Seth and Lucy Holcombe Preserve, and the Dismal Brook Wildlife Preserve, to name a few—will be protected forever, preserving the critical natural places that help make Granby the incredibly beautiful place that it is.”
The Granby Land Trust provided extensive documentation and was subject to a comprehensive third-party evaluation prior to achieving this distinction. The Land Trust Accreditation Commission awarded renewed accreditation to the land trust for the second time following its initial accreditation in 2014, signifying its confidence that GLT’s lands will be protected forever. Accredited land trusts now steward more than 20 million acres—the size of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island combined.
The GLT currently protects nearly 3,500 acres of land in Granby. A nonprofit organization with no public funding, the GLT relies on its members and donors for support. Some of Granby’s most scenic and environmentally important properties are cared for by the Granby Land Trust: places like the Western Barndoor Hill Preserve, the Katan-Ensor, Garmany, Hayes Family and Schlicht Preserves, the Griffin Farm Preserve, the Godard Preserve, the Nuckols Family Preserve, the Wilcox Family Preserve and the recently acquired Emery and Hart Family Preserves. (To see a full list of properties under the GLT’s care, go to GranbyLandTrust.org)
“We are proud to recognize the Granby Land Trust’s continued commitment to conservation excellence,” said Melissa Kalvestrand, executive director of the commission. “The accreditation seal is a mark of distinction that stands for excellence, trust and permanence. The Granby Land Trust is part of a network of more than 450 accredited land trusts that are united by their strong ethical practices. Accredited land trusts inspire confidence and respect among their peers and in their communities.”
