By Rebecca Spitler
President, Georgia Piedmont Land Trust
SUWANEE, Ga. | This year, 2023, is a landmark year for the Georgia Piedmont Land Trust. We are 25 years old this year. For a quarter century we have worked to protect land for a number of important conservation purposes.
Spitler
In 1998, a group of Gwinnett County homeowners gathered to find a way to ensure that trees, creeks and green spaces would be set aside and protected as quiet places. Their specific objective was protecting both open and greenspace, and the river corridors in the county, and was begun at the Gwinnett Open Land Trust (GOLT). At that time Gwinnett County was recognized as the fastest growing county in the nation and development was running rampant. It was the first land conservation organization to be founded specifically for the purpose of identifying and protecting land within Gwinnett County.
In 1999, GOLT put its first property of 13 acres under protection. In 2003, GOLT was approached by a landowner in a neighboring county to protect their property, becoming the first non-Gwinnett property placed under protection. By 2008, GOLT had about 615 acres under protection in Gwinnett and about 255 acres protected in four other counties and so it was renamed as the Georgia Piedmont Land Trust, GPLT, servicing the northern half of Georgia
Today, GPLT has over 2,600 acres of land under protection located in the counties of Bibb, Catoosa, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Rockdale, Upson, Walton, Whitfield and Wilkes. We have a diverse portfolio of protected properties to include Civil War and Revolutionary battlefields in partnership with the American Battlefield Trust, a green cemetery in partnership with the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, watershed restoration properties, conservation subdivision greenspaces, granite outcrops, habitats with threatened species and a community garden in partnership with citizens who care about green and open spaces in their communities.
An inescapable reality of the landscape of the northern half of Georgia where we concentrate is its fragmentation, frequently resulting in conversion of land for development. This means saving undisturbed or green areas, wetlands, and working and historic properties is more important than ever.
Our partners include Gwinnett County, Whitfield County, Wilkes County, the American Battlefield Trust, the Georgia Chapter of American Chestnut Foundation; Monastery of the Holy Spirit; the Trust for Public Land; and the Wylde Center.
The GPLT was recently re-accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission. The Commission commended GPLT for an extraordinary commitment to excellence, trust, and permanence in land conservation, and especially recognized GPLT for its unique partnership with American Battlefield Trust in preserving historic American battlefields.
Founders of the organization are Carol Hassell, who is the executive director; Teresa Cantrell, Joyce Nuszbaum, Peggy Boydston, Charles Field, Mike Donnellan and Joe Gilbert.
Current officers include myself as president, along with Vice President Terry Dempsey and Secretary Dale Higdon.
- You can find a list of GPLT milestones here: https://gplt.org/milestones.
We accept the challenge that points Georgia Piedmont Land Trust toward the future.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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