FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Anthony Flint
617-661-3016 x116
DARBY BRADLEY FIRST TO SERVE AS FIRST KINGSBURY BROWNE FELLOW AT THE LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY
Vermont Land Trust president to write, lecture on land conservation
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Oct. 23, 2006) -- Darby Bradley, President of the Vermont Land Trust and a longtime champion of land conservation, was named as the first recipient of the Kingsbury Browne Fellowship at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
The fellowship, named after Boston attorney Kingsbury Browne (1922-2005), will run for one year beginning January 1, 2007. In his role, Bradley will engage in lecturing, writing and mentoring associated with the Lincoln Institute, a think-tank with a focus on land policy based in Cambridge.
“I am honored to be the recipient of this award from a conservation community which has accomplished so much,” said Darby Bradley. “Kingsbury Browne had a big vision: to transform land trusts from small, isolated groups to a national movement. Twenty five years later, we obviously succeeded.
“Now, we too must pursue a big vision – one where in 25 years, the faces in this room will reflect the faces of all Americans – the whole community. That is our challenge if we want to follow in the footsteps of Kingsbury Browne,” he said.
Browne is credited as one of the founder’s of America’s modern land trust movement, now a network of more than 1500 land trusts operating throughout the US. Together these land trusts have conserved more than 34 million acres.
In 1980, as a Fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Browne first envisioned a national network of land trusts and persuaded the Institute to convene the first-ever gathering of land trust leaders from coast to coast. The ultimate result was the Land Trust Alliance, formed in 1982 to advance the mission of land trusts.
The Kinsbury Browne Fellowship was announced in conjunction with the Kingsbury Browne Conservation Leadership Award, also given to Darby Bradley by the Land Trust Alliance at the National Land Conservation Conference in Nashville, Tenn. In October.
The award was presented by Land Trust Alliance President Rand Wentworth and former President Jean Hocker, a member of the Lincoln Institute board, who commended Bradley as “a humble man who has dedicated his life to conservation. It is truly inspiring to see how much one passionate and dedicated person can do over a relatively short period of time.”
Bradley has served for 25 years at the Vermont Land Trust and worked with the group;s founder to set up the organization and complete some of its early conservation projects. During his tenure, VLT has helped landowners in communities throughout Vermont, to permanently protect more than 440,000 acres—roughly 7.5% of Vermont’s privately-owned land. A Dartmouth graduate, he received a law degree from University of Washington Law School in 1972.
About Lincoln Institute: The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a leading research institution on land use and taxation issues based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, serves as a forum for scholars, policymakers, practitioners, citizens and journalists, integrating theory and practice through education, research, demonstration projects, publications and conferences. The Lincoln Institute has had a collaborative partnership with the Land Trust Alliance since the organization’s founding. For more information: www.lincolninst.edu
About Land Trust Alliance: Land Trust Alliance was formed in 1982. Since its inception, Land Trust Alliance has trained thousands of conservation leaders, won new federal tax incentives for conservation on private lands, and developed standards and practices to professionalize and safeguard land trust work. Land Trust Alliance connects land trusts, so that every land trust can benefit from the collective wisdom and innovations of the entire community. It is based in Washington, DC with field offices in most regions of the country. For more information:
www.landtrustalliance.org
-30-