Land Trust – A Landmark year

This year is a landmark year for the Georgia Piedmont Land Trust (GPLT). It is 25 years old this year.  For a quarter century the land trust has worked to protect land for a number of important conservation purposes.

In 1998 a group of Gwinnett County residents gathered to find a way to ensure that some trees, creeks and green spaces would be set aside and protected as quiet places.  They were concerned that county or state parks wouldn’t be sufficient or even available to some. They envisioned green areas in among the inexorable development, near where people live and work.

In the midst of the energy and bustle of a community that was exploding with development, they believed this was essential to ensuring the area would be a place in the future where people would want to live.

As they learned how land conservation is accomplished, the group realized it would need to form an entity called a land trust. This special type of nonprofit organization would be key to realizing their vision.  They named the new land trust Gwinnett Open Land Trust.

Soon thereafter they celebrated their first property with a street party in the Gwinnett neighborhood adjacent to it. Almost immediately landowners beyond Gwinnett asked about protecting land and a few short years later, the land trust accepted its first conservation project beyond Gwinnett.

In 2008, the growth of the growth of the land trust was recognized with a new name – Georgia Piedmont Land Trust.  An inescapable reality of the landscape of the northern half of Georgia is its fragmentation, frequently resulting in conversion of land for development. This means saving undisturbed or green areas, wetlands, and working and historic properties is more important than ever.

This is the challenge that points toward the future and the next 25 and more years. Until now, the land trust has been entirely volunteer run with no staff. GPLT will soon complete a strategic planning process led by GSAE past president Cynthia Mills,
FASAE, CAE, CMC, CPC, CCRC of The Leaders' Haven, LLC. It is expected that GPLT will be led in the future by an employed Executive Director, or possibly through an association management company.

The Georgia Piedmont Land Trust board leadership includes four GSAE members; Gabriel Eckert, FASAE, CAE, Lori Spear, CAE, Terry Dempsey, CAE (ret.), Rob Sumner, CAE (ret.).

For more information about GPLT, visit https://www.gplt.org/support.