Tall Timbers Land Conservancy (TTLC)

By Kevin McGorty, Director

Tall Timbers Land Conservancy Staff — Top row (l-r): Kevin McGorty, Director; Dr. Christine Ambrose, Land Stewardship Coordinator; Neil Fleckenstein, Red Hills Planning Coordinator; Middle row (l-r): Ofelia Sivyer, Administrative Assistant; Lynne Boyd, Land Conservation Specialist; Bottom Row (l-r): Chris Borg, Conservation Biologist; Elizabeth Barron, Planning Assistant

Even during tough recessionary times, conservation remains popular among families seeking ways to preserve the lands they love. It looks like 2009 will be another banner year for donated conservation easements as landowners seek to utilize the expanded federal tax incentives that are scheduled to expire at the end of the year. Efforts are underway in Congress to make the benefits permanent, but in the meantime, some families are making the commitment now to conserve their lands as Tall Timbers is working on projects to save nearly 20,000 additional acres this year. To learn more about these incentives, click here. For a full discussion on conservation easements, click here.

In February 2009, the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, announced that Tall Timbers Research Station & Land Conservancy had been awarded accredited status.

The Commission awards accreditation to land trusts that demonstrate compliance with each of the accreditation indicator practices drawn from Land Trust Standards and Practices, the ethical and technical guidelines for the responsible operation of a land trust. Accreditation recognizes a land trust’s commitment to continuous quality improvement. To ensure that accredited land trusts continue to meet national standards, accreditation is renewed every five years.

The Commission commended Tall Timbers for the detail in its organizational planning documents as well as the strong scientific basis behind is land management planning. It also commended Tall Timbers for the excellent relationships it builds with the owners of conservation easement-protected land.

Tall Timbers Land Conservancy was founded in 1990 and is considered one of the largest regional land trusts in the South according to the Land Trust Alliance. To date, Tall Timbers has saved over 110,000 acres of environmentally sensitive land on eighty properties in the greater Red Hills region of southwest Georgia and north Florida. For more information on accreditation, click here.

Email Kevin McGorty, TTLC Director