about us

The New River Land Trust is dedicated to protecting the farmland, forests, open spaces and historic places in Virginia’s New River region.

57,000

ACRES OF LAND PROTECTED
27

MILES OF NEW RIVER WATERFRONT PROTECTED
$6.9M

OF CONSERVATION FUNDING BROUGHT TO THE NRV
758

ACRES OF NEW PARKLAND IN BLACKSBURG

our mission

Land conservation is critical as unprecedented development threatens our water supply, wildlife habitat, natural and open spaces for recreation, and the overall natural integrity of the region.

NRLT joins with 1,700 other land trusts to protect over 56 million acres—twice the amount of land in National Parks in the lower 48 states-making a major impact on the American landscape.

NRLT received accreditation in July of 2013 after a rigorous evaluation by the national Land Trust Alliance Accreditation Commission, and we earned re-accreditation in 2018.

our story

In the fall of 1998, regional planner Lesley Howard realized a “no-development” option was not available when considering development proposals in the New River region.

The community meeting that followed was the first of many over the next 3 years, and a small core of conservationists grew from an informal group to incorporate as the New River Land Trust in 2002.

As the group discussed how to move land conservation forward, it gathered community input through focus groups and one-on-one conversations with a range of community members, from business owners to land owners, stay-at-home moms, and the academic community.

The group learned that regional stakeholders held their landscapes near and dear to their hearts, but often felt powerless to change what many of them perceived to be sprawling development.

In response to this challenge, the NRLT hired its first executive director, Beth Obenshain, and officially opened for business in 2002. Beth retired in December 2009 and John Eustis was named the executive director.