Bruce Babbit speaks at Land Conservation Rally

On March 25, more than 300 conservationists gathered in New Brunswick for the 10th Annual Land Conservation Rally. For the past decade, NJCF and more than a dozen partner organizations have hosted this daylong educational event—the largest conservation-focused conference in the state and one of the largest conferences of its kind in the nation. This year for the first time, the Rally was preceded by two field trips, giving participants a hands-on learning experience.

During the rally, former Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbit signed copies of his new book. Babbit is pictured with NJCF Trustee, Virginia K. Pierson.

Former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt opened the Rally program with an inspirational keynote address that highlighted the importance of local, grassroots efforts in affecting federal environmental policy. NJCF Executive Director Michele S. Byers introduced the Secretary and presented him with a copy of NJCF's newsletter from 1993, which reported on Babbitt's visit to the New Jersey Highlands to announce several federal grants furthering preservation initiatives.

Thirteen years earlier, the Secretary had said: "What's most important is that New Jersey is protecting entire ecosystems, not just bits and pieces (of the environment) … I tell the rest of the country that if you want to see how it's done, look at New Jersey."

And both in his address and his new book, "Cities in the Wilderness: A New Vision of Land Use in America" (Island Press), Babbitt identified New Jersey as a conservation leader. The Secretary pointed to the New Jersey Pinelands as a prime example of how citizens and all levels of government can work together to effectively preserve land and water quality, along with our communities, history and culture.

Rally-goers were welcomed by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Deputy Commissioner Jay Watson. Nearly 30 rally workshops focused on land acquisition, land stewardship, preservation in developed communities, public policy and planning, fundraising and communications and nonprofit management.

The Rally also featured an ethics and conflicts of interest course offered by the Land Trust Alliance (LTA), a national umbrella organization for land trusts, as part of its new curriculum on the Land Trust Standards & Practices, which are the ethical and technical guidelines for land trusts. LTA recently launched the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an Independent Program of the Land Trust Alliance, to provide verification that a land trust has the ability to operate in an ethical, legal and technically sound manner and ensure the long-term protection of land. The Land Trust Standards & Practices form the basis of accreditation.

While the Commission develops policies and procedures for accreditation, which will begin full operations in 2008, it is critical to educate land trusts about Standards & Practices now. Launching this national educational effort in New Jersey in partnership with LTA is an example of NJCF's support of the state's conservation community.

"The effectiveness of private land conservation in New Jersey is dependent on strong, viable land trusts," Byers said. "Implementation of Land Trust Standards & Practices is critical. Helping New Jersey land trusts achieve these benchmarks is one way NJCF is working to build the conservation community and ensure the integrity of land preservation in our state."