Five miles east of downtown Michigan City lies a pocket of one of the rarest natural communities in Indiana: the boreal forest of Ambler Flatwoods Nature Preserve.

I'm excited — and you should be, too! The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly yesterdat to permanently reauthorize the expired Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Does accreditation increase public confidence in land trusts? "Yes" finds a new report evaluating the impact of the first 10 years of the accreditation program.

The Green Bay watershed is one of the largest freshwater estuaries in the world. Spanning 10.6 million acres, it is the source of one-third of the surface water flowing into Lake Michigan. What happens in the watershed has a high impact on the lake's water quality.

This weekend is notable for two reasons.

First, the New England Patriots are playing the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII. (Alternatively, the adorable Puppy Bowl is airing, if that's more your speed!) And second, the worst of that horrible Polar Vortex is behind us.

The Great Black Swamp once stretched across 1,500 square miles from Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Sandusky, Ohio. Impressed by the land's richness, settlers in the late 19th century drained the wetland and converted it to highly productive agriculture.

Since I arrived at the Alliance in 2016, I've been listening to feedback from many of you across the country. Your message has been clear: Community conservation is more than just another program. It's mission critical. And I wholeheartedly agree.

On behalf of the Land Trust Alliance and our 1,000 members, I'm pleased to applaud the U.S. Senate's early reintroduction of the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act.

Now that the 116th Congress is seated, our community is presented with the opportunity to make a difference on federal policies impacting land trusts nationwide.

The Land Trust Alliance has long held that amendment clauses in conservation easements serve to strengthen easements and improve their enforceability.