Lady Slipper, Valley Falls Park, Vernon Photo Credit Amy B. Paterson
Our Mission
The Connecticut Land Conservation Council advocates for land conservation, stewardship and funding, and works to ensure the long term strength and viability of the land conservation community.
Our Programs
CLCC provides members of the Connecticut land conservation community with critical services built around the following five key roles:
- Convener of the land conservation community by providing a venue for land trusts to learn from one another and advance their conservation goals through collaboration. Programs include:
- Annual Summer Focus Group Series: Consultant-led roundtable for Connecticut land trust officers, board members and committee chairs serving in a similar capacity in diverse land trusts from around the state.
- Regional Roundtables & Directors' Summit Series: Facilitate roundtables for peer-to-peer networking and topical discussions for land trust board members working in the same region.
- Provider of timely, practical and affordable opportunities to improve organizational capacity through training and education. Programs include:
- Clearinghouse for current information on local conservation issues: CLCC provides no-charge advice and assistance, as well as up-to-date news critical to the work of the conservation community through direct consultation, presentation at local workshops, board meetings, and conferences, and publication of its monthly E-news and its website. Sign up here for up-to-date alerts.
- The Model Conservation Easement Project: The goal of this CLCC project is to strengthen the quality and viability of conserved lands in Connecticut by: (1) creating a statewide model conservation easement template for use by the land conservation community; and (2) improving the knowledge, skills and abilities of the drafters and users of conservation easements through a comprehensive training program.
- Provider of direct technical assistance and information on current and relevant conservation information.
- Annual Connecticut Land Conservation Conference: CLCC's Annual Conference continues to be the largest conservation gathering and the only land trust convocation of its kind in Connecticut. The 2015 Conference was a record breaker in every respect, with over 400 participants, 70+ faculty, 30 workshops, 3 seminars and a diverse group of sponsors. Find details on the 2016 Annual Conference HERE.
- Trainings and Workshops: CLCC hosts a number of trainings, workshops and other roundtable events that address the issues your organization faces to ensure you have the information you need to achieve your conservation goals.
- Grantmaker to the land trust community through the Land Trust Challenge Fund Program with a focus on augmenting their capacity to complete work central to their missions.
- Through the Connecticut Land Trust Challenge Fund Grant Program, CLCC, in partnership with the Land Trust Alliance, has provided over $200,000 in grant funds to 40 land trusts to undertake organizational capacity building projects since 2009.
- Advocate for the land conservation community for funding and other critical land conservation issues.
- With over 137 land trusts in the state represented by more than 1,000 dedicated board members and nearly 40,000 land trust members, the land trust community has the potential to exert tremendous impact on state land conservation policy and funding. On an annual basis CLCC adopts a policy agenda and during the legislative session keeps CLCC members updated on the status of legislative initiatives and engaged with their local legislators to remind them of the important conserved land plays in their local communities. Click here to read all of our legislative updates.