What we do
Since our founding in 1991, the Minnesota Land Trust has worked to protect Minnesota’s most treasured natural places, restore habitat that has been degraded, and engage people across our state in outdoor experiences.
Protect
To date the Land Trust has protected over 79,000 acres of habitat and 499 miles of shoreline across our state. Our primary protection tool is a conservation easement, where landowners voluntarily give up development rights on their land in perpetuity, keeping it in its natural state. The Land Trust holds almost 98% of all non-profit conservation easements in the state of Minnesota.
Restore
By helping private landowners restore their land to its natural state, we can protect that habitat, as well as the lakes and streams that depend on the filtration provided by adjoining natural land. Private land can oftentimes be the puzzle piece that fits between public land, and can create an uninterrupted stretch of habitat for wildlife.
Engage
The Land Trust works to engage communities across our state in conservation and restoration work. Our staff and program managers work with local communities, government agencies, local and other nonprofit organizations, along with key community stakeholders to ensure that their conservation priorities are reflected in conservation efforts on the ground.
We also work directly to get people outdoors; read more about our engagement work with the City of Duluth and Youth Outdoors-Duluth.
