Strategic Plan
2025-2030
The Landscape We Share
Protecting Green Places for Generations to Come
The landscapes of the Berkshires give us clean water, healthy forests, food for our tables, and places to breathe and belong. Today those gifts are at risk. As climate change reshapes forests, farms, and waters, the choices we make now will decide whether these landscapes remain vibrant for generations. BNRC unites neighbors, landowners, and regional partners to protect this land at a scale that matters. With over five decades of proven conservation leadership, we have both the capacity and the duty to secure a resilient Berkshires—now and for generations to come.
Conservation Strategy
Preserve our region’s ecosystems through increased conservation and partnerships.
By 2030, we will increase the pace of our land conservation, with a focus on acquisitions that expand key BNRC Reserves and High Road connections to increase public access, and raise landowner/community awareness of land protection options.
Using our land prioritization model, we will preserve parcels critical for landscape-level biodiversity, agriculture, recreation and climate resilience.
Stewardship Strategy
Improve BNRC land management for biodiversity and climate resilience.
Once land is conserved, the greatest climate resilience and habitat health is achieved through active informed stewardship such as removing invasive species and creating a range of habitats through careful forest management.
We foster habitat diversity and health by implementing climate-smart land management practices on BNRC-held parcels, providing landowners with tools and resources to improve climate resilience, and maintain BNRC trails for long-term sustainability while meeting our standards of wayfinding and navigability.
Access Strategy
Expand access to the outdoors and connect people to the land.
We believe nature should be welcoming and accessible to everyone. We seek to improve public access through infrastructure, resources, and regional collaboration, serving as a leader and collaborator among local land trusts.
By 2030, we plan to greatly increase High Road trail routes, build new accessible trails in underserved areas of Berkshire County, and expand public access to conserved lands in the central and northern parts of the county. We’ll also provide support to private landowners and peer organizations on improving public access.
Community Strategy
Build a stronger, more inclusive outdoor community through partnerships, education, and engagement.
By fostering partnerships, offering educational programs, and creating engaging opportunities, we’re building a stronger, more inclusive outdoor community where all people can connect with the land.
We’re setting goals to refocus BNRC’s public programs to better meet the needs of underserved communities, develop plans to support partner organizations and municipalities across our region, and grow a strong, county-wide volunteer corps.
You Can Help
Donors like you will help strengthen BNRC’s capacity and resources to ensure organizational effectiveness and sustainability.
These ambitious goals require a strong foundation. To protect land and connect people with nature for generations to come, we must have the staff, systems, and resources to work efficiently and sustainably. Building our organizational capacity and securing stable funding now ensures we can meet today’s needs while preparing for the challenges and opportunities of the future.
With your help, we can ensure our team achieves our ambitious conservation, stewardship, and access goals by 2030 and beyond.