Celebrating Conservation Excellence

May 1, 2026-

The Wilderness Land Trust has been awarded accreditation by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission through a comprehensive third-party evaluation.

The accreditation process verifies that we have demonstrated fiscal accountability, strong organizational leadership, sound transactions, and lasting stewardship.

The Trust first received accreditation in 2008, joining the more than 470 accredited land trusts across the country that are committed to meeting the highest standards in conservation. We have since gone through reaccreditation three times.

Our commitment to conservation excellence, reflected in this accreditation, is not just in service of our mission to protect wild places, it ensures our values are implemented in how we work every day: that our supporters know their generosity is having a direct impact, that our partnerships are built on respect, and that every landowner we work with is treated with professionalism and fairness.

Alaska’s Chuck River Wilderness grows with 28-acre transfer

April 20, 2026-

In Southeast Alaska, the Tongass National Forest covers almost 17 million acres of coastline and temperate rainforest. It is the nation’s largest national forest, and about 35% of it is designated as wilderness in 19 wilderness areas.

Within it, the Trust recently transferred our 28-acre Chuck River Bend property to public ownership to be added to the Chuck River Wilderness.

The property, accessible by boat only at high tide, sits where the Chuck River flows into Windham Bay. Its open meadows are prime pink salmon fishing grounds for Alaskan brown bear, and also have blueberries, salmon berries, and devil’s club, which are other important food sources for bears.

Chuck River Bend is the third property the Trust has protected as wilderness in the Tongass National Forest since we began working in Alaska in 2017.

Learn more about our recent Alaska projects in this virtual site visit video from a few summers ago.

 

Join our Team: Director of Major Gifts

April 13, 2026-

We’re Hiring a Director of Major Gifts!

The Wilderness Land Trust seeks a fundraising professional with proven major gifts experience to serve as Director of Major Gifts on a part-time (0.5 FTE) basis. This is a permanent, ongoing position—not a limited contract. The Trust is looking for someone with a deep understanding of nonprofit development, a commitment to building meaningful relationships with donors, a multi-year track record of successful fundraising, the courage and confidence to make in-person solicitations for meaningful gifts, and strong alignment with the mission of wilderness conservation.

See the full job description for more information.

So long and happy trails to Liz!

April 3, 2026-

Next week we’re saying ‘so long’ to Liz, our Director of Philanthropy, and sending her off on her next adventure as she and her husband Todd retire to spend more time long-distance backpacking. Liz hopes to hike all 11 National Scenic Trails in ten years, starting with a return to the Continental Divide Trail, which she hiked in 2024.

Many of you who have had the opportunity to connect with Liz already know her passion for wild places and her belief in the power of community. Since joining the Trust, Liz has been an invaluable member of our team, putting that passion to work to help advance nearly every aspect of our fundraising work.

“Leaving the Wilderness Land Trust is bittersweet because the wilderness values that brought me here are the same ones that are calling me back to the trail. My time here has been a highlight of my career in philanthropy. I’m lucky to have been part of such a dedicated, expert, and kindhearted team, especially during a challenging time for public lands and conservation in general,” says Liz. “Day by day, year by year, the Trust’s staff, board members, donors, and partners are working together to add acres to protected wilderness, and lifting each other up while we do it. It’s hard to imagine a better day job.”

Spring Newsletter 2026 Crossword Answers

Join us in welcoming David Hartwell to our Board of Directors!

March 20, 2026-

Residing in Minnesota, David is semi-retired after a long stint in various manufacturing businesses, the longest being 27 years in the composites industry, where he built a company with manufacturing capacity of 50M square feet annually. He currently serves on numerous company boards and as an advisor to various businesses.

He also has extensive experience on non-profit, foundation, and governmental boards. He was the founding president of the Minnesota Land Trust and served on the Land Trust Alliance board in numerous capacities for 23 years. In 2000, he launched and then led an effort which resulted 8 years later in a constitutional amendment raising the sales tax in Minnesota that is now providing $450M annually for habitat, clean water, parks and cultural habitat. David graduated from the school of hard knocks, is married to Amy Hartwell, whom he travels extensively with, is an avid birdwatcher and gardener and has a blended family of 7 children, 8 grandchildren and one great granddaughter.

The Trust’s volunteer Board of Directors has 17 members, spread across the country. Their extensive and invaluable expertise help to steer the Trust’s work as our governing body. We look forward to all that David will bring to our Board!

Trail access, redwoods, and steelhead spawning grounds protected in California’s Central Coast

March 6, 2026-

Along California’s Central Coast, the Pacific Ocean meets mountains in one of the nation’s most significant biodiversity hotspots. Here, over 35 endangered species make their homes in the narrow canyons, chaparral, and old-growth forests. The Ventana Wilderness protects over 240,000 acres of this critical habitat. In 2020, a family wishing to see this landscape they love protected for future generations generously donated their 87-acre property to The Wilderness Land Trust. The Trust recently transferred the property, known as Little Sur River, to public ownership to be added to Los Padres National Forest.

The Little Sur River property sits between the Ventana Wilderness to the south and another section of Los Padres National Forest, which was previously landlocked by private property, to the north. Its transfer to public ownership has not only connected those two sections of public lands, it has also ensured public access on two trails running through the property

“Our gratitude goes out to the Wilderness Land Trust for leading the effort to add the Little Sur River parcel to our treasured public lands,” says Ventana Wilderness Alliance Executive Director, Carol Olson. “This transfer of private lands to public ownership advances our shared goal to protect wilderness values in the Big Sur backcountry.”

This transfer has also protected a tributary to the South Fork of the Little Sur River, the Central Coast’s most important and pristine spawning grounds for the threatened South-Central Coast steelhead trout. Today, only an estimated 100 fish return to the Little Sur River each year to spawn, making every foot protected of its sheltered cold water tributaries critical for their survival. The property is also home to an old-growth stand of coastal redwoods, which can grow to over 350 feet in height and live for 2,000 years.

This is the 7th property protected by the Trust in and around the Ventana Wilderness, totaling over 830 acres.

Washington’s Mt. Baker Wilderness grows with transfer of inholding property

February 20, 2026-

The Wilderness Land Trust recently completed the transfer of 21 acres within Washington’s Mount Baker Wilderness to public ownership, adding it to the designated wilderness area.

Within the Fourth of July Lode property, high in the alpine, sits one of the remaining 13 glaciers in the Mount Baker Wilderness. Glaciers across the North Cascades have been steadily losing volume over the last several decades. As glaciers shrink due to a changing climate, the ecosystems that depend on them become increasingly vulnerable. A study found the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest provides $30 billion worth of ecosystem services that we depend on, like the clean air and clean water which sustain life, and every dollar invested in the Forest returns over $3,000 in ecosystem services.

Removing this threat of development from the Fourth of July Lode property will not only yield returns for future generations through these ecosystem services, but also help bolster the resilience of the surrounding wilderness ecosystems by improving their connectivity.

The Trust first purchased the property from a private owner whose family it had been in since the early 1900s gold rush. Now that it has been transferred to public ownership it is protected as designated wilderness, which enjoys the highest level of protection available to public lands that can only be altered by an act of Congress, not executive orders or other administration directives.

The Fourth of July Lode property is the 16th property the Trust has transferred to public ownership in Washington within the last year as part of our North Cascades campaign.

A message from our President

February 6, 2026-

Dear Friends,

I’m writing to introduce myself and say how excited I am to be joining this community as President of The Wilderness Land Trust.

For much of my career, I’ve worked at the intersection of wilderness conservation and storytelling, helping locals seek more durable protection for their big backyards- the places they grew up hunting, fishing, hiking, or paddling.

And if there’s one thing I’ve learned from almost two decades of engagement on preserving the shared heritage of our public lands, it’s that there are no quick wins. Instead, building reliable partnerships through patience and persistence is what carries the day. That kind of work requires discipline, trust, and a long view… qualities that I’d say feel especially important right now, as pressures on wild lands continue to grow and the pace of decision-making accelerates around them.

Patience. Persistence. Discipline. Trust. The Wilderness Land Trust has long embodied those values. Quietly, thoughtfully, and often without fanfare, the Trust has stepped in where others couldn’t, ensuring that extraordinary landscapes are made complete. I’m honored to help carry that work forward.

In fact, one of the things that drew me most strongly to the Trust is its unique role on the conservation spectrum. There are plenty of groups doing good work to expand the National Wilderness Preservation System, and plenty of groups doing good work to steward the lands in that System, but in the middle one finds The Wilderness Land Trust, doing very good work to make that system whole and healthy.

I feel lucky to be supported in our work by a world-class staff and a stellar Board of Directors. Together, we intend to continue to strive to preserve a rich legacy of protected wilderness through persistent, professional, and fair acquisitions of private land in and around wilderness areas, to help complete the promise of wilderness. Our work as a reliable partner to agencies and local communities will endure. And we’ll continue to steward our resources responsibly, knowing that every acre protected represents a promise kept.

We do all this because we know how meaningful wilderness is to you and your family, generating stories of adventure, discovery, and inspiration. These are special places that you and I both cherish, and that we both hope will remain wild and free. As an organization, we are motivated by the same values as you: a reverence for the land and the complex communities of life it supports.

Thank you for being part of this community and for supporting The Wilderness Land Trust. I’m excited for the work ahead, and I look forward to learning from you as we continue it together.

With gratitude,

Anders Reynolds

President, The Wilderness Land Trust

anders@wildernesslandtrust.org

Mt. Shasta inholding protected

January 23, 2026-

The Wilderness Land Trust recently acquired a 1 acre inholding within the Mount Shasta Wilderness of northern California. You may be wondering why bother protecting one acre within the almost 37,000 acre wilderness area? But every inholding, no matter their size, is a tear in the fabric of wilderness protection.

The Mt. Shasta North property is home to an ancient lava flow from the still active volcano, and has sweeping views of the summit to the southeast and broad valleys to the west. Located only 1/4 mile off a trail, it had been purchased by the previous landowner with the intention of building on it. Now that the property has been protected, there are only three inholdings left within the Mt. Shasta Wilderness, making this acquisition a meaningful step toward completing the wilderness area.

Once the property is transferred to public ownership and added to the designated wilderness, we’ll have mended the tear, removing the gap in habitat connectivity and making the fabric of wilderness as whole stronger than before.