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From the President and Board Chair LOOKING FORWARD AT 40


T


his year, The Trust for Public Land celebrates its 40th anniversary. In the early 1970s, the environmental movement was still young,


conservationists were focused on habitat loss and air and water pollution, and the nation’s cities were staggering from disinvestment and discon- tent. Our founders recognized that humans also need healthy habitat, and that emerging conservation tools could be employed to conserve land for people across the American landscape—especially in cities. Just as important, they recognized that more change was inevitable, and so they lodged within the soul of their new organization an entrepreneurial spirit; a commitment to people, partnership, and community engagement; and a dedication to exploring new ways of solving conservation problems. The Trust for Public Land’s donors and supporters should be proud of what we have accom- plished together over the last four decades. With your help, we have protected more than 4,000 special places and 3 million acres; created or refurbished hundreds of city parks, playgrounds, and gardens; and helped raise more than $33 billion in public funding for conservation. Even more important—but harder to quantify—are the millions of lives that have been touched by our work. Places have the power to change lives, whether it’s a park or playground in a city neighborhood, the last farm in a suburban town, a much-loved beach or riverfront, or a working ranch or forest in a rural community. Four decades after our founding, we are confronted with a new set of challenges and oppor-


tunities. Obesity, an isolated problem in the 1970s, has become an epidemic—expensive both in human lives and health-care costs—and a crucial reason to enrich communities with health- supporting parks and greenways. Reversing a long trend of abandoning urban centers, Americans are returning to cities in search of social energy, community, and convenience—and cities are scrambling to build parks to serve current residents and attract new ones. And local farms and urban gardens are filling a vital role for more and more Americans who want to know where their food comes from. We hope you enjoy this annual report issue of Land&People, reporting on the year past and detail- ing some of our most exciting work to address today’s conservation challenges. On anniversaries such as this, the staff and volunteer leadership of The Trust for Public Land are particularly grateful for our founders’ focus on entrepreneurism and adaptability. Channeling their spirit—and with your irreplaceable support—we will continue to find new ways to help communities protect the places they care about, create healthy human habitat, and shape 21st-century cities that are not just livable but loveable.


Will Rogers President


4 LAND&PEOPLE Fall/Winter 2012


Page Knudsen Cowles Chair


TPL Board of Directors


DARCY KIEFEL


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