NAPP, PDR, WLT, TDR? Imagine you're a landowner who wants to protect your land. Would you like to understand the available options without dealing with dozens of acronyms for many disconnected programs? Well, good news is here.

Washtenaw-area preservation groups are cooperating to make it easier for landowners to get the information they need and easier for the programs to coordinate projects to increase effectiveness.

"The goals of this effort are two-fold," explains Susan Lackey, director of the Washtenaw Land Trust, a nonprofit land conservancy helping to lead the cooperative effort. "First, we'll be able to provide better, more complete information to landowners about local preservation programs and their similarities and differences.

"Second, it creates a forum where conservation groups can easily share opportunities to work together on projects. Everyone's conservation investments can go even further."

The informal alliance of conservation groups includes local land conservancies such as The Nature Conservancy, Raisin Valley Land Trust and Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy, as well as the funded preservation programs such as Ann Arbor Township, Scio Township, Webster Township, Washtenaw County and the City of Ann Arbor's Greenbelt program.

Here's even better news. The group has already made a tangible impact. Tom Freeman, the Washtenaw County Parks staffer responsible for the county's Natural Areas Preservation Program, explains: "Before, landowners were forced to complete and sign separate applications for each municipality's program, even though the forms asked for essentially the same information. And the municipalities were not authorized to share applicant information, even when there might be a better fit with a different program.

"Now, each municipality is updating their forms to give landowners the option to have their information shared with other conservation groups who could help protect their land.

"It's just a simple checkbox, but it will be a big improvement in helping landowners find the best program to preserve their land."

Stay tuned; there's more cooperation to come!