Some of America’s most significant lands and waters that are located inside and adjacent to our parks remain in the hands of private owners. From rivers and forests to historical structures and archeological sites, many of our most special places are threatened with development. National Park Trust is committed to supporting the National Park Service’s efforts to acquire the missing pieces of our national park sites. One of the most effective ways we are achieving this goal is with our Treasure Forever Fund.
The Treasure Forever Fund is a revolving fund that provides our national parks with financing to act quickly in response to time-sensitive conservation opportunities. It helps to resolve a common problem with land deals when quick action is needed in order to make a purchase before the seller moves on to other interested buyers. Even if the national park has the funds to purchase the land, they often are unable to move quickly to access them and close the deal.
These funds are continually used for land conservation – upon reimbursement, we “revolve” the money back returning it to the fund to be used for a future land acquisition project.
In addition to providing the resources quickly upfront, our team of real estate experts can assist with the complex transaction of each project often working directly with landowners, title companies, and other project partners.
How It Works:
- Our partners at the National Park Service identify a high-priority property vulnerable to development and ask for our help.
- After a careful vetting process by our board’s lands committee, Park Trust negotiates and purchases the property using the Fund.
- If needed, the Park Trust holds the property until funds are available for the partner to purchase it from us.
- The Park Trust will not take on a project unless 95% or more of the funds are expected back from the National Park Service (or other funding partners) to be returned to the Fund.
- The Park Trust uses the funds to purchase the next high-priority property.
As the fund administrator, National Park Trust draws on decades of experience in land conservation and a long history of working with the National Park Service, state, and local partners to accomplish shared conservation goals.
Your gift to the Treasure Forever Fund will make us ever-ready to preserve our treasured ecological and cultural resources when they are put up for sale.
