Why We Protect Land
The Georgia Piedmont Land Trust (GPLT) protects land because there is a direct connection between the state of the environment, the quality of our lives and the health of our communities. Preserving the lands of North Georgia ensures a healthy future for generations to come by safeguarding the natural resources that benefit us all.
Having sufficient amounts of natural lands is vital to the survival of our environment. This open space is required to protect our drinking water supplies and clean air, promote healthier, active lifestyles, and to preserve habitat for native plants and animal species, including the birds that fascinate us, but who must have appropriate nesting areas and protection to survive. Land preservation plays a critical role in the future of our environment and benefits our communities in numerous ways:
Protecting Our Water Supply
Our water supply is critical not only to local residents but to the millions of people who live downstream of our creeks, rivers and reservoirs. GPLT targets its preservation work in key watersheds by preserving wetlands, forests and fields that absorb rainwater, reduce flooding and filter contaminants.
Protected lands mean not altering or converting land along rivers, streams and creeks. These are woodland buffers that diminish flash floods and the polluting effects of silt and erosion. Such buffers are an essential component of green planning and design, and help offset the effects of development's impervious surfaces.
Enhancing Our Quality of Life
Land preservation is a critical tool in the effort to manage growth wisely and maintain the quality of rural, urban and suburban areas where we live, work and play. By working with local governments, organizations and citizens GPLT helps communities protect beautiful landscapes and historic areas, and provide ample space for outdoor recreation.
Protecting Wildlife Habitat
North Georgia is rich with plant and animal life. Our varied landscapes provide diverse habitat for a wide variety of species, including some classified as threatened and endangered. By protecting open space, we are also protecting the woodlands and fields, plants, birds, and animals that are essential to balance and biodiversity in our communities. A strategic preservation plan improves prospects for the survival of imperiled species over the long-term and the protection of historically and biologically significant areas.
"The story of land is older that the story of man. Every society must devise ways in which its members will share this gift and under what conditions that land will be passed on to the next generation. This is continuity." --From "The Community Land Trust: A Guide to a New Model for Land Tenure in America."
