Ozark Land Trust is part of a rapidly expanding land conservation movement throughout the United States that now includes about 2,000 land trusts.Land trusts are private, nonprofit, voluntary organizations dedicated to helping landowners protect land in perpetuity through various methods that include conservation easements, nature preserves, and partnerships with conservation organizations.
OLT has dozens of projects protecting more than 30,000 acres of land throughout the Ozark region. It has been instrumental in protecting many natural and geological features such as waterfalls, caves, springs, bluffs, forests, prairies, glades, rivers, and wetlands. OLT also preserves urban greenspace, agricultural lands, historic places, and sensitive ecological sites. OLT is nationally accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, and has undergone a rigorous review of standards and practices to meet the qualifications required by the commission.
OLT is a non-profit conservation land trust with tax-exempt status pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations to OLT are tax deductible. OLT was founded in 1984 and is operated by a volunteer board of directors that oversees the activities of the organization and directs its staff. OLT is a member of the Missouri Land Trust Coalition, an association of both land trusts and their supportive and partner organizations dedicated to conservation across the state.