Because everyone needs a good advocate.

Advocacy Matters, LLC founder, Gwendolyn Lacy, principal attorney, consultant, and mediator, works with private landowners, regional, local, and national land conservancies, as well as governmental agencies and environmental organizations to actively preserve those special places where life-long memories and legacies are forged. Client Services, include drafting and/or review of conservation easements, land acquisitions, historic preservation, mediation of easement violations, legislative advocacy, water rights, eminent domain, estate planning, and non-profit capacity building.

Serving the Mid-Atlantic and Southwest Regions of the U.S.

Judy Anderson of Community Consultants has worked in the land trust sector for over 30 years. She currently assists nonprofit organizations on practical strategic conservation initiatives incorporating local communities, climate change, governance, communications and marking, and community-based fundraising strategies.

Judy offers a free bi-monthly newsletter related to climate change, conservation and land trusts taking action to slow down climate. Judy also provides coaching on inclusive conservation, easement drafting and stewardship, and building greater community relevance to ensure land trusts withstand the test of time.

Judy coaches remotely as well as proving in-person trainings, workshops, and discussions.

David Allen at Development for Conservation assists conservation organizations raising money from individual donors by improving renewal, cultivation, and major gift development systems. David brings 25 years of experience to the practice, including 13 with The Nature Conservancy. With a focus on implementation and follow-through, he has worked with dozens of land trusts across the country on fundraising audits and plans, board training, campaigns, and coaching. “You can raise more money for your land trust. I can help."

Grant & Lyons was founded in 1994. Since founding, our practice is dedicated solely to environmental, land use and real estate law. One of our founding partners, Drayton Grant (now deceased), was a founding member of the Winnakee Land Trust in Rhinebeck, NY. Current partner, John Lyons, presently sits on the Board of Directors of both the Winnakee Land Trust and the Catskill Center (whose land trust was recently accredited by LTA) and sits on the Board’s stewardship committee. John is an individual member of the LTA. Our legal practice regularly involves all facets of conservation easements. We represent both land trusts and landowners. We have drafted, negotiated and reviewed many easements, and provided legal advice to parties on both sides of the conservation easement equation. In addition to helping Winnakee and the Catskill Center, we also have worked with Scenic Hudson, Dutchess Land Conservancy, and Hudson River Heritage (for whom we successfully defended a lawsuit seeking to extinguish a conservation easement). We participate actively in continuing legal education to remain at the forefront of new developments in this field. We also work regularly with planners on open space preservation initiatives for our municipal clients.

Public officials and corporate executives with high profile public and private projects that must get planned and completed, call Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell. Whether the project is a public project, has a nexus with a government entity, or merely requires deep knowledge of how government works, our attorneys are sought after — because we’ve seen it and done it before.

Widely recognized as one of the region’s foremost authorities in conservation law, Pregmon Law has been instrumental in preserving thousands of acres of land in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland. Whether it is private donation of conservation easements or publicly funded acquisitions of open space, partners Pat Pregmon and Lauren Pregmon Tetreault provide counsel to both land trusts and private landowners. We also coordinate public-private partnerships and develop innovative donation agreements and funding covenants to meet the needs of land trusts responsible for the perpetual stewardship of conservation transactions. Pregmon Law excels at analyzing individual needs, mediating competing interests, and creating a structure which unites them- while always keeping in mind the goal of crafting a solution which will last in perpetuity. Being a small firm, Pregmon Law can apply a more thoughtful approach and get to a more intimate level of detail to meet our clients’ conservation objectives.

Rodenhausen Chale is a firm of experienced and highly focused attorneys ready to work hard to help you achieve your goals. Our practice is wide ranging. We negotiated the massive New York City Watershed Agreement, we formed the East of Hudson Watershed Corporation for nineteen municipalities in Westchester, Dutchess and Putnam Counties, we successfully defended the New Paltz wetlands law from constitutional challenge, and we successfully argued the Supreme Court Middlefield case giving towns the right to ban fracking through their zoning laws.

Snyder Appraisal Associates specializes in appraising agricultural, rural and environmentally sensitive properties throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. We complete appraisals for conservation easements, charitable contributions of real estate (IRS appraisals), federal land acquisitions (UASFLA), estate planning and lending decisions.

After 19 years as a conservation professional, I decided to launch Strong Outcomes to use what I learned to help environmental agencies and organizations be more successful.

In my career, I have helped dozens of communities and organizations build capacity to conserve natural resources and authored a book on natural resource-based land use planning. I developed conservation plans, organized workshops and events, developed community engagement strategies, and implemented practical measures of success.

I have a BS in Biology and an MS in Biodiversity Conservation and Policy from the University at Albany, and a Certificate in Change Leadership from Cornell University. I am a Senior Fellow with the Environmental Leadership Program and have 13 years of nonprofit board experience.