{"id":105,"date":"2016-04-07T15:04:41","date_gmt":"2016-04-07T15:04:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stagbcelandtru.wpengine.com\/?page_id=105"},"modified":"2026-01-26T15:07:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T15:07:15","slug":"land-trusts-in-action","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.birds.cornell.edu\/landtrust\/land-trusts-in-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Land Trusts in Action"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Small Grant Program<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Apply for $10K & $25K Grants<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
Next RFP Opens January 2027<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Land trusts leverage birds as both indicators of ecosystem health and powerful tools for engagement. Birds help land trusts identify priority lands for protection, attract donors and volunteers through birding activities, and provide measurable data to demonstrate conservation success through population monitoring and habitat assessments. In turn, land trusts across the U.S. provide vast benefits to birds by protecting critical habitats and through their conservation actions. This website highlights some of the great work of land trusts\u2014through collaboratives working with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Cornell Lab) and by showcasing many land trust success stories<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Success Stories<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are numerous land trusts that have had exceptional experiences conserving both lands and birds; we interviewed many of these land trusts. Their stories have inspired others interested in becoming more involved in bird conservation and demonstrated how a land trust can benefit from bird conservation, including which first steps to take. We encourage you to read these success stories<\/a> to learn more about their bird conservation efforts, and what they did to succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Collaboratives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
A Cornell Lab of Ornithology biologist discusses young forest habitat suitable for Golden-winged Warblers at the Grand Lake Reserve during the St. Lawrence Valley Partnership Habitat Management Workshop.\nPhoto credit: Ashley Dayer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Strategic and coordinated efforts across regions or landscapes can substantially increase the impact and cost-effectiveness of conservation by leveraging investments and resources from multiple partners. Land trusts within a region are natural partners by way of geography and are likely to share species that are in most need of conservation action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative\u2019s Conservation Collaboratives (Collaboratives)<\/strong> are regional land-trust partnerships fostered by the Cornell Lab and linked to local bird organizations and other partners working within their collective landscape. Each Collaborative is organized around a cluster of partners that share similar habitats and responsibilities for protecting and managing these habitats and high priority bird species. They receive initial training, resources, and connections to on-the-ground partners from the Cornell Lab, building capacity to leverage collective resources and secure funds with the goal of generating synergy and accomplishing larger-scale conservation of imperiled species and habitats than would be possible by individual organizations working alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presently, the Cornell Lab has six active Collaboratives:<\/p>\n\n\n\n