Program areas at OSI
Land protection: smart, strategic Land conservation strengthens communities, ensures access to drinking water resources, provides recreational resources, curbs climate change, and protects habitats. Working throughout the eastern united states, with project concentrations in new york, new jersey, south carolina, and Georgia. Through facilitated projects, direct acquisition, and conservation easements, osi protects Land of ecological, recreational, and climate and water quality protection significance with the goal of conveying it to public agencies and conservation partners as permanent additions to publicly accessible lands. In 2023, osilt protected 15,000 acres of Land having a fair market value of $141 million.
Guided by science, with a focus on climate change, water protection, forests, and wildlife habitat, osilt works with foundations to design and administer re-grant programs, directing capital and low-cost loans to accelerate the rate and effectiveness of conservation. Osilt also offers catalyst grants and technical assistance to conservation partners and public agencies to incorporate climate and watershed science into conservation planning and works directly with communities to foster resilience to climate impacts. In 2023, osilt made 22 capital grants totaling $2.7 million, protecting 14,300 acres in five states with a fair market value of $20 million. Further, osilt directly approved 14 grants for conservation planning totaling $230,000.
Parks and public policy: osilt is making nature and the outdoors more welcoming and enjoyable to all. Through park improvements, the creation of new trails and greenways, public policy research, and advocacy for greater federal, state, and national investments in public lands, osilt works to improve accessibility to Open Space, promote community wellbeing, and create the next generation of conservationists. Osilt also provides support services for new city parks, the newly formed parks improvement group, that brings urban parks to neighborhoods.
Stewardship: through its stewardship work, osi monitors and enforces conservation easements, oversees the management of properties conserved with third-party partners, and provides interim management for properties that will be conveyed to public agencies or other conservation partners.