Photo courtesy of Tom Gross
Preserving Land for Community Benefit.

Our Mission

Our Mission...

...is to preserve the ecological systems and cultural values of the Upper Saco River Valley. We will provide for the continued well-being and availability of land for farming, forestry, recreation, and education, as well as for land remaining in its natural state, benefiting natural and human communities.

We seek to achieve our mission through the forging and fostering of partnerships for land conservation, and through respectful stewardship, while being mindful of our heritage, our place, and our vision and responsibility for the future.


What we do...


We conserve lands for farming, forestry, public recreation, scenic enjoyment and wildlife habitat. We protect these resources primarily through the use of conservation easements, which are non-development agreements granted in perpetuity by private landowners to qualified organizations such as USVLT. Beyond holding conservation easements, USVLT also owns several lands “in fee” within our 11-town service area. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE about land conservation nuts and bolts.