The mission of American Land Conservancy is to conserve land for the benefit of people and wildlife.

About ALC

American Land Conservancy is a non-profit land conservation organization dedicated to protecting America’s natural heritage by conserving land for the benefit of people and wildlife. Since 1990 ALC has conserved more than 276000 acres (1,116.9 km²) of land and water resources, working farms and ranches, and wildlife habitat, nationwide.

Programs

In its first 15 years, ALC pursued projects based on the opportunities at-hand, tackling projects across the country. Their work is now focused on the following regional landscape programs:

• Alaska
• California Central Valley and Foothills
• Great Basin
• Mississippi River
• West Coast Trail
• American Landscapes

Conservation Ethic

The organizations 'conservations ethic includes the following principles:

• We seek to foster healthy ecosystems by preserving biological diversity and protecting habitats.
• We believe people need open space to connect to nature and recharge.
• We understand that healthy ecosystems are essential to sustainable economies and communities.
• We believe in conserving working farms and ranches to sustain historic landscapes and a way of life.
• We consider collaboration to be critical to the future of land conservation in America.
• We believe that private landowners can often serve as the best stewards of land.

Conservation services

Direct Purchase – ALC works with landowners who wish to sell or donate their exceptional land for conservation by finding a public agency or conservation buyer to own and manage the land permanently. Funding for acquisition can come from state or federal appropriations, philanthropic foundations or individuals. Sample projects: BK Leach Memorial Conservation Area #MO#, Crow Creek Falls #MT#, High Meadows #NV#.

Conservation Easement – A conservation easement

Conservation easement

In the United States, a conservation easement is an encumbrance — sometimes including a transfer of usage rights — which creates a legally enforceable land preservation agreement between a landowner and a government agency or a qualified land...

 is a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust

Land trust

There are two distinct definitions of a land trust:* a private, nonprofit organization that, 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; or* an agreement...

 or government agency that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. It allows the landowner to continue to own and use the land and sell it or pass it on to heirs subject to the restrictions of the easement. ALC often works with a conservation partner who holds and monitors the easement. Sample projects include the Hearst Ranch

Hearst Ranch

The Hearst Ranch is a ranch that consists of 2 cattle ranches: San Simeon – Piedra Blanca Rancho. This ranch surrounds the Hearst Castle and comprises , one of the largest working cattle ranches on the California coast. The other ranch is the Jack Ranch in Cholame, California, which was acquired...

 #CA#, (in conjunction with the California Rangeland Trust

California Rangeland Trust

The California Rangeland Trust was formed in 1998 by a group of ranchers within the California Cattlemen's Association. Since its inception, the trust has worked with voluntary landowners and other conservation partners to conserve of rangeland on 27 ranches across 19 counties.Steve Sinton was...

), Bridgeport Valley #CA#, Kaskaskia Island #IL#.

Acquisition of Surface or Sub-surface Rights - Sometimes the surface of a landscape is protected, but a company or individual owns the assets on top #timber#, or underneath the surface #mining, water, natural gas#. ALC acquires these rights to prevent development and habitat destruction in pivotal landscapes. Sample projects: Bodie State Historic Park

Bodie, California

Bodie is a ghost town in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, California, United States, about 75 miles southeast of Lake Tahoe. It is located east-southeast of Bridgeport, at an elevation of 8379 feet . As Bodie Historic District, the U.S. Department of the...

 #CA#, Denali National Park #AK#, Valles Caldera

Valle Grande, New Mexico

Valle Grande is a dry lakebed in New Mexico. It is an unevenly shaped expanse of beige grassland situated inside the larger Valles Caldera....

 #NM#.

History

The genesis of American Land Conservancy can be traced to founder Harriet Burgess' first trip down the Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...

. The trip guide was the legendary Martin Litton, founder of Grand Canyon Dories, editor for Sunset Magazine, and as described by David Brower

David R. Brower

David Ross Brower was a prominent environmentalist and the founder of many environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club Foundation, the John Muir Institute for Environmental Studies, Friends of the Earth , the League of Conservation Voters, Earth Island Institute , North Cascades...

, "conscience of the Sierra Club

Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...

." Martin inspired her to see the natural world as never before.

Many years and many trips later, Harriet started ALC in order to pursue the protection of another canyon – Topanga Canyon

Topanga, California

Topanga is a census-designated place in western Los Angeles County, California, USA. It is located in the Santa Monica Mountains. Occupying Topanga Canyon, it is often referred to by that name. Topanga is bounded on three sides by State Park or conservancy lands, and on the south by the Pacific...

 in the Santa Monica Mountains

Santa Monica Mountains

The Santa Monica Mountains are a Transverse Range in Southern California, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean in the United States.-Geography:...

 of Southern California. She founded ALC with the contents of a modest retirement fund, and proceeded to option the 1655 acres (6.7 km²) Topanga Canyon property from the owners -- for $1. Ten years later, the project was successfully completed.

Under Harriet, ALC’s mission was to fill a niche in the land preservation movement, taking on projects too large for purchase by local land trusts and too complicated and high-risk for larger, national land trusts. Some of ALC’s signature projects over the years have included the acquisition of tens of thousands of acres for the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest

The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is the principal U.S. National Forest located in the U.S. state of Nevada. With an area of , it is the largest National Forest of the United States outside of Alaska...

 in California and Nevada, large-scale wetlands restoration along the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

, and most recently, conservation of the 82000 acres (331.8 km²) Hearst Ranch on the California Central Coast.

Since the beginning, Martin Litton played a vital role as co-founder, connecting Harriet and her cause to such conservation legends as Bruce Babbitt

Bruce Babbitt

Bruce Edward Babbitt , a Democrat, served as United States Secretary of the Interior and as the 16th governor of Arizona, from 1978 to 1987.-Biography:...

, David Brower, Pete McCloskey

Pete McCloskey

Paul Norton "Pete" McCloskey Jr. is a former Republican politician from the U.S. state of California who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1967 to 1983. He ran on an anti-war platform for the Republican nomination for President in 1972 but was defeated by incumbent President...

, Margaret Owings, Galen Rowell

Galen Rowell

Galen Avery Rowell was a noted wilderness photographer and climber. Born in Oakland, California, he became a full-time photographer in 1972.-Early life and education:...

, Wallace Stegner

Wallace Stegner

Wallace Earle Stegner was an American historian, novelist, short story writer, and environmentalist, often called "The Dean of Western Writers"...

, Stuart Udall, Ardis Walker, and more. By staying the course and never backing down from a challenge, ALC’s small staff was able to conserve hundreds of thousands of acres across fourteen states during Harriet’s era.