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11/25/2008 • News Stories

Jefferson Land Trust Meets Accreditation Deadline

« Click image for popup view » Eighteen months' work: JLT's accreditation application material assembled for shipping. The binders filled three boxes, each weighing 32 lbs. The long process of preparing Jefferson Land Trust's formal application for accreditation by the national Land Trust Association is complete. Nancy Newman, JLT's systems manager and the person who has overseen the entire application process, shipped off three boxes of application materials on Nov. 7, and the boxes arrived at the LTA accreditation offices four days before the Nov. 14 deadline. For 18 months, more than a dozen JLT staff, board members, and key volunteers reviewed and implemented a string of policies to clarify our operational procedures. The process began with a comprehensive self-assessment, which showed that JLT's long history of working under LTA's Standards and Practices had already established a solid, accountable set of procedures. Coordinating all the responses to queries about data and policies was probably the most complex part of the accreditation process, Newman says. Now that the LTA has received the application, it will take several months for the committee to review. We will hear by mid-December if the application is considered to be complete or whether additional material is required. Then in the following months the LTA committee will ask for any clarification needed. They may schedule a site visit, or just a teleconference interview. A final decision is possible by April. As Nancy Newman points out, "Through this process, your land trust has become more professional and stronger than ever before." To become accredited will mean that Jefferson Land Trust is nationally recognized as doing its work according to the highest standards of the national land trust organization. We will report on the progress of the accreditation application as soon as we hear from the LTA. Website http://www.landtrustaccreditation.org  More Info   Document    Contact Nancy Newman, Conservation Assistant (360) 379-9501