Our Mission

To preserve the unique character of Tennessee's natural and historic landscapes and sites for future generations.

Our Purpose

Our region has seen significant growth in recent years, and our communities continue to blossom, bringing new businesses and drawing new residents. But the very reason many people live in Tennessee - its rich history, green rolling hills, scenic landscapes, open farmland and rural back roads - must now actively be preserved or these precious unique characteristics will be lost.

The Land Trust, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, works with partners at the federal, state and local level to assist landowners, citizen groups and other interested parties to preserve forever the scenic and natural values of land throughout the state. Lands protected include private land, public parks and open spaces. Our main tool for ensuring this preservation is called a conservation easement, and it is an alternative to just selling the land for development.

A conservation easement allows a willing landowner to achieve three important goals:

- keep ownership of the land

- preserve the important assets of the land through customized restrictions on future development

- certain tax advantages

We also use a number of tools such as comprehensive land-use plans, natural resource assesments and regional partnerships to protect Tennessee land. Examples of these tools include the Davidson County Open Space Plan, the Lost Cove project and the Duck River Highlands project.