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February 25, 2006

David MacDonald Appointed to Land Trust Accreditation Commission

(Washington, D.C.) February 15, 2006 - David MacDonald of Mount Desert, ME, was recently appointed to a new commission established to ensure quality of land conservation. In a statement released by the Land Trust Alliance today, MacDonald is one of 13 members appointed to an independent commission that will operate a new accreditation program for land trusts.Land trusts are nonprofit organizations that conserve land through private agreements with landowners in their communities. MacDonald currently works as the Director of Land Protection at Maine Coast Heritage Trust, a statewide land conservation organization.

Scheduled to begin operations in early March, the new organization will be called "The Land Trust Accreditation Commission: An Independent Program of the Land Trust Alliance."

"The accreditation program is a milestone in land conservation history, ensuring the permanent protection of millions of acres of working forests, farms, ranches and natural areas across America," said Rand Wentworth, president of LTA. "We hope this program will serve as a model of self-regulation and high legal and ethical standards for other nonprofit sectors."

Land trusts in America have been responsible for conserving 34 million acres, and this new program is seen as a critical tool for ensuring that these lands stay protected. Many of these local, regional and national nonprofit land conservation organizations eagerly await the opportunity to showcase their accomplishments before the commission and receive recognition of their efforts. In an era marked by Congressional scrutiny of the nonprofit sector, this program offers a way to distinguish the excellent work of citizen conservation organizations.

In this first year the commission will develop the policies to provide a fair and transparent review of applications and the procedures for granting a seal of accreditation to successful applicants. Tests of the accreditation system will be underway by 2007 and the program will be fully operational by 2008. More than 1,000 land trusts are eligible for accreditation.

According to Wentworth, one of the keys to successful development of the accreditation program was extensive involvement by the land trust community. The design of the accreditation program was led by a steering committee of conservation leaders and was the result of a year-long process of listening to land trusts and reviewing state-of-the-art conservation practices.

When appointing the new commission, the LTA board of directors also approved the bylaws for the new subsidiary nonprofit corporation and approved the corporation's officers. Larry Kueter, an attorney in private practice and counsel to the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust will serve as the commission's chair. Kueter commented, "This is a remarkable opportunity to lead a ground-breaking program that will strengthen the land trust community and foster public trust in our work."

Mr. Kueter volunteered on a 2004 team to revise Land Trust Standards and Practices, the ethical and technical guidelines for land trusts that will serve as the foundation of accreditation. Mr. Kueter also co-chaired the accreditation program design steering committee in 2005 and was recently appointed to LTA's board of directors. In addition to Mr. Kueter, the independent commission represents a balance of small and large land trusts and land conservation and nonprofit and government expertise from across the country.

"Launching of this accreditation program for land trusts is just what the public needs right now. In recent years, there has been a huge upswing in the number and diversity of landowners who want to protect their property from future development. And now there will also be a system in place to ensure public trust in the organizations responsible for maintaining their protected status," remarked Wentworth.

The local appointee to this commission, MacDonald has been part of the land protection staff at Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MHCT) for the past 15 years, first as a project manager and now as MCHT's Director of Land Protection. He has worked with landowners, communities, and partner trusts to assemble dozens of conservation transactions along the Maine coast. David also serves as a volunteer board member of three local conservation organizations in eastern Maine - the Somes-Meynell Wildlife Sanctuary, the Island Foundation, and the Pleasant River Wildlife Foundation. He lives on Mount Desert Island with his wife Caroline and two young children.

The Land Trust Alliancepromotes voluntary private land conservation to benefit communities and natural systems. We are the national convener, strategist and representative of more than 1,500 land trusts across America. Land Trust Alliance works to increase the pace of land conservation, build strong land trusts, defend the permanence of conservation easements, and ensure that the work of land trusts is strategically directed. LTA has offices in several regions of the country, with its headquarters located at 1331H St, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20005-4734. For more information, visit www.lta.org.

Contact: Rand Wentworth, President, Land Trust Alliance 202-638-4725

Larry Kueter, Chair, Land Trust Accreditation Commission 303-292-5656

The Land Trust Accreditation Commission:

An Independent Program of the Land Trust Alliance

Commission Members