Land Trust staff and board members from across the U.S. gathered in Raleigh, N.C. this October to attend RALLY, the National Land Trust Conference. They came together to learn from experts, share their knowledge and gain the skills they need to grow their missions. They heard a lot about “Natural Climate Solutions” – the ability of natural resources like grasslands and forests to sequester and store carbon.
We’ll need to conserve over one million acres of grassland a year over the next ten years to achieve their maximum carbon storage potential in the U.S..
That’s why GBT is embarking on an ambitious plan to greatly expand grassland conservation across the U.S. by forging strategic partnerships with government agencies, other land trusts, nonprofit organizations and stakeholders across the country.
“We’re working to build a national coalition for grassland conservation,” said Laurie LaFond, GBT’s Executive Director. “We spoke to potential partners at RALLY and there’s a lot of interest. We’re already scheduling meetings.”
She said GBT plans to continue to acquire and permanently protect more critical grassland habitat. They are also developing new conservation tools for landowners and companies who want to help conserve birds.
PHOTO: GBT Board Member Paloma Spina (left), Board Secretary Scott Pulver (middle) and Executive Director Laurie LaFond (right) joined nearly 2,000 of their colleagues at RALLY in October. They came away inspired to take GBT’s conservation program to the next level!
Special thanks to Connie Hasko for donating air miles and hotel points so Scott could attend, and to Paloma for donating her air miles to GBT!