Trustees of Reservations
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| Motto | Find your place. |
|---|---|
| Established | 1891 |
| Founder | Charles Eliot |
| Headquarters |
Holyoke, Sharon, Beverly, and Leominster, Massachusetts, USA |
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Membership (2016)
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125,000 |
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President
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Barbara Erickson |
| Website | www |
The Trustees of Reservations (TTOR) is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest regional land trust in the world and as of 2016 has 125,000 dues-paying members. In addition to land stewardship, the organization is also active in conservation partnerships, community supported agriculture (CSA), environmental and conservation education, community preservation and development, and green building. The Trustees of Reservations own title to 116 properties on 27,000 acres (11,000 ha) in Massachusetts, all of which are open to the public; it maintains conservation restrictions on 200 more properties. Properties include historic mansions, estates, and gardens; woodland preserves; waterfalls; mountain peaks; wetlands and riverways; coastal bluffs, beaches, and barrier islands; farmland and CSA projects; and archaeological sites.
Main offices of the organization are located in Beverly, Leominster, and Sharon, Massachusetts. Financial support for the organization comes from membership dues, annual contributions, property admission fees, special events, grants, and endowments. In June 2006, The Trustees earned gold-level recognition from the United States Green Building Council for its Doyle Conservation Center in Leominster. On September 16, 2006, The Trustees of Reservations announced its permanent affiliation with the Boston Natural Areas Network.
The Trustees of Reservations was proposed in 1890 when the New England periodical Garden and Forest published a letter by landscape architect Charles Eliot (protégé of Frederick Law Olmsted) entitled "The Waverly Oaks." Eliot's letter proposed the immediate preservation of "special bits of scenery" still remaining "within ten miles (16 km) of the State House which possess uncommon beauty and more than usual refreshing power." To this end, Eliot proposed that legislation be enacted to create a nonprofit corporation to hold land for the public to enjoy "just as a Public Library holds books and an Art Museum holds pictures."
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