Rhode Island has over 40 land trusts, a dozen watershed organizations and numerous conservation commissions. Led by the Rhode Island Land Trust Council and the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, the Rhode Island Land and Water Partnership builds the capacity of these critically important grassroots organizations. Partnership programs foster learning and collaboration among conservation leaders throughout the state and region. We believe that by working together, we can individually and collectively be more efficient and more effective in protecting our state's land and water resources.

Programs of the RI Land and Water Partnership:

• Land and Water Conservation Summit – Held in March each year for the leaders of community-based conservation organizations and local governments. The 2010 Summit will be held on Saturday March 27, 2010 at the URI Memorial Union. Save the date! Visit the Materials from Past Summits page to download presentations and related materials from the 2009 and 2008 summits.
• Shared Volunteer Management – The Partnership is developing volunteer management support services for conservation non-profits.
• Donor/Member Management Systems – The Partnership is developing systems to help conservation organizations with management of their membership programs and donor relations.
• Workshops – Capacity building programs and workshops are offered by the Partnership on a periodic basis as needs and opportunities arise.
• On-line Library of Resource Materials – The Partnership, in collaboration with the RI Conservation Stewardship Collaborative, has created and maintains an extensive library of web-based "how to" information to support conservation, management, and stewardship.

Contacts:

• Rupert Friday – Director RI Land Trust Council. 401-932-4667, rfriday@rilandtrusts.org
• Meg Kerr – Narragansett Bay Estuary Program. 401-714-2313, megkerr@cox.net