Missouri Land Trust Coalition Welcomes American Farmland Trust as Newest Member
Columbia, MO — The Missouri Land Trust Coalition (MLTC) announced that the American Farmland Trust (AFT) has joined as its newest member, strengthening efforts to protect and sustain Missouri’s working lands.
MLTC is an association of land trusts, government agencies and nonprofit partners, working to protect a wide variety of natural, community, recreational and farm landscapes across Missouri.
In 2024, AFT hired additional staff to support local land trusts applying to the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) in Missouri. Through this collaboration, multiple applications were selected and are progressing toward closing. These agricultural easements will permanently protect those selected acres from non-agricultural development.
“When I started, the Agricultural Land Easement (ALE) component of ACEP had not been fully utilized in Missouri due, in part, to a lack of knowledge or confidence in applying to the program,” said Josh Wright Missouri Farmland Protection Specialist with AFT. “Now we’re seeing a big increase in both inquiries and applications.”
Until recently, land trusts in Missouri had acquired most of their easement holdings through full donations from landowners. Purchase of development rights programs, such as ACEP-ALE, offer funds to compensate for a portion of the easement’s value. These funds can lessen the financial burden landowners often incur when donating easements.
While a few applications had been submitted to the state prior to AFT support, the earliest efforts to utilize the program nearly stalled.
“Being the first time around for both our organization and the Missouri NRCS office presented a challenge,” said Eric Gramlich, Outreach and Partnership Manager at Ozark Land Trust. “Josh [Wright] joined at a critical time in 2024, and with AFT’s support, [he] helped move our applications forward toward contracting while also assisting both NRCS and our organization in understanding the process.”
Gramlich added, “His ability to navigate NRCS requirements and connect us with broader AFT resources has been critical in advancing our projects and establishing the program here in the state.”
Other regional land trusts have held out on applying altogether, only considering the process after AFT support was available.
“Josh [Wright] has been an outstanding partner,” said Nick Shapiro, Executive Director of the Greenbelt Land Trust of Mid-Missouri. “His assistance in navigating the complexities of the ACEP-ALE program has already proven indispensable as we have begun to embark on our planning and application processes.”
AFT will provide ongoing technical assistance to help successfully close agricultural conservation easements statewide.
The addition of AFT to the coalition marks an important step forward in strengthening Missouri’s conservation network and advancing shared goals of preserving working lands for future generations.
About the Missouri Land Trust Coalition
The Missouri Land Trust Coalition is a statewide alliance of land trusts dedicated to conserving Missouri’s natural, agricultural, and cultural resources through voluntary land protection.
