Support conservation in your community and maximize your donation to the Franklin Land Trust. To make your donation before 12.12.12, and still have it count toward our Valley Gives totoal, choose "schedule one for Valley Gives" in the donation box to the right. If that option is not available to you please use the following link:

http://valleygives.razoo.com/story/Fltrust

Founded in 1987, the Franklin Land Trust (FLT) is a non-profit organization that works with farmers and other landowners to protect farms, forests and other natural resources significant to the environmental quality, economy and rural character of western Massachusetts.

As we celebrate our 25th anniversary, FLT is also marking a significant milestone: 25,000 acres of conserved land. In all, FLT has facilitated 290 projects in 26 towns in Franklin and to a lesser extent, Hampshire and Hampden Counties.

More important than the number of acres of land that FLT has protected, however, is the quality and significance of that land:

• FLT has conserved thousands of contiguous acres of woodland, watershed and wildlife habitat, helping to protect our fragile ecosystem.

• From its beginnings, the Franklin Land Trust has emphasized the preservation of farmland. With the help of the state’s Agricultural Restriction Program, FLT has helped dozens of farmers retain and grow their family farms.

• FLT has been instrumental in conserving some of western Massachusetts’ signature landscapes: scenic areas along the Mohawk Trail, the view from the top of Mt. Sugarloaf, the entrance to the French King Bridge, the Connecticut River and Deerfield River corridors, the Ashfield Town Common, and north and south meadows of Old Deerfield, to name just a few.

The landscape of western Massachusetts is not just a backdrop — it is a part of our lives, a presence that unites and defines us. Whatever the size of your gift, know that you are making a difference in the life of our community, our region, our Commonwealth. Sustainability, and our future, starts here.