This 10-week course (8-weeks online and 2 in-person gatherings) is targeted toward anyone at any career level (including upper-level college students, UMass affiliation not required) interested in learning the nuts and bolts of land conservation transactions for professional application. The goal of this course is to provide participants the skills, tools and understanding of land protection to better equip a person for a career in land protection in Massachusetts. Sponsored by Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition, UMass Amherst MassWoods, Mass Audubon, and Wildlands Trust.
- Thursday, April 30, 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. -- Info session. Faculty and a past participant will outline the course and the application process. Register here.
- Sunday, September 13, 10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. -- in-person at Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, Easthampton, MA
- Thursdays, from September 17 - November 5, online 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
- Friday, November 13, 5:00 p.m. - Sunday, November 15, 12:00 p.m. -- in-person weekend retreat at the Wildlands Trust Stewardship Training Center, Plymouth, MA
Cost: $500. Scholarships are available.
Application deadline: Friday, May 15, 2026
Application form coming soon. Includes description of the application process.
Application Process: The course will be limited to 25 participants chosen through a competitive application process. Details are on the application form.
What is Land Protection?
Land Protection is a field that involves overseeing real estate transactions that place land into conservation status. Duties of those who work in the field include researching conservation priorities, identifying specific lands for acquisition, outreach to landowners, negotiating and structuring deals to achieve donations or purchases of land or conservation restrictions, coordinating multiple due diligence tasks necessary to complete a deal, and working closely with public and private partners and funders.
Massachusetts has a long history of conservation and an abundance of government bodies and nonprofits that are active in the arena. But even as support and funding for land acquisition has increased dramatically in recent years, a shortage of trained professionals to carry out conservation transactions has slowed progress.
Land conservation professionals employ a combination of skills that are not bundled into any conventional course of study. This course is offered to students and individuals at any career level with a strong interest in learning the nuts and bolts of land conservation transactions in order to seek potential employment - or support an existing position - in this field. Note that this class does NOT address the work of land stewardship, but rather is about the work of acquiring land for conservation.
Upon completion of this course, participants will understand:
- What organizations and entities are qualified to protect land and how;
- Importance of personal relationships and social capital in land protection;
- Strategies for prioritizing land for protection;
- Specific legal tools and techniques that convey conservation status to land;
- Basics of budgeting and fundraising for land projects, including forecasting stewardship costs;
- How to ensure sound transactions (due diligence);
- Importance of community engagement and communication;
- How to manage and document a conservation transaction.
Course framework
This class has both in-person and virtual elements. It kicks off with a day-long in-person event on Sunday, September 13th, followed by eight weekly Zoom meetings on Thursdays from 4 - 6 p.m. led by different conservation professionals from across Massachusetts, followed up with an in-person weekend retreat at The Wildlands Trust Stewardship Training Center in South Plymouth, MA beginning on Friday evening, November 13 and concluding midday Sunday, November 15.
Rob Warren, former Managing Director of Conservation for The Trustees of Reservations, and Christa Collins, former Director of Land Protection at Sudbury Valley Trustees, will serve as facilitators, and Paul Catanzaro, Professor and State Extension Forester, will be point-of-contact for UMass students.
Each Zoom meeting is two hours, with a short break in the middle, and may include small-group breakout sessions. Participants who complete homework assignments and a final project and attend the weekend retreat will be eligible to receive a certificate of completion at the conclusion of the course. If space is available, others who may wish to audit the class may do so, but will not receive the certificate, and will not be required to complete assignments outside the webinars, but may choose to. Certificate recipients will be entitled to free admission at the 2027 Mass Land Conservation Conference.
Application form coming soon. Deadline: Friday, May 15, 2026
This course is a collaboration of the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition, UMass Amherst MassWoods, Mass Audubon, and Wildlands Trust.
