Landowners share their conservation legacies in new publication

July 16, 2025

Minneapolis, MN – The Climate Land Leaders Initiative has just published the stories of conservation-minded landowners working to ensure that their conservation continues long after they are gone.

“According to American Farmland Trust, 40 percent of U.S. agricultural land will change hands in the next 20 years,” says Teresa Opheim, Executive Director, Climate Land Leaders. “Many of these landowners have worked hard to care for trees, grasses, wetlands, waterways, and soils, and they don’t want all of that hard work to end as the land changes hands.”

The journeys included in Land Legacies: Stories from Landowners for Landowners are “touching, excruciating, and celebratory,” Opheim says. The publication features:

  • Carol and Peg Bouska, and their sisters Sally McCoy and Ann Novak, who write about the steps they have taken to plan their farmland legacy while keeping family harmony.
  • Margaret McQuown shares how she is providing land access to a young farm family and protecting her land with a conservation easement.
  • Paula Westmoreland’s story is about selling the family farmland and paying forward some of the proceeds to people of color who were denied farmland ownership for centuries.
  • and more.

Also included are activities for helping landowners to reflect on “becoming a good ancestor” for future generations. Questions to contemplate include: What are your favorite memories of the land? Who taught you to care for the land? What is the vision for your land in 2050? 

 The publication is available online at climatelandleaders.org/land-legacies. Support for Land Legacies: Stories from Landowners for Landowners was provided by Renewing the Countryside and Peoples Company.

The Climate Land Leaders Initiative provides community and support for those wanting plant, animal, and human communities to thrive through our land stewardship. The Initiative includes people who control 50,000+ acres in the Midwest, all of them working to ensure that our lands and communities are resilient in our rapidly changing climate. For more information, visit climatelandleaders.org.