The Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art has achieved renewed land trust accreditation from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance. 

Founded in 1967 as a land trust, four years later the Brandywine Conservancy added the Brandywine River Museum to its portfolio known for its display of American art. Brandywine Conservancy, Inc. updated the naming of its parent organization and its two programs in early February. The parent organization became the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art. The environmental program, formerly known as the Environmental Management Center, is now known as the Brandywine Conservancy. 

“Accreditation helps our organization stay on top of trends in practices and procedures and makes the Brandywine Conservancy a stronger organization" said Sherri Evans-Stanton, director of the Brandywine Conservancy. 

"Accreditation is an important touchstone for the land trust community. In establishing the highest standards and practices that best accomplish our shared conservation goals, we have also created an important symbol that assures the public of the integrity of our actions" said Virginia A. Logan, executive director of the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art.

The mission of the Brandywine Conservancy is to conserve the natural and cultural resources of the Brandywine watershed and other selected areas with a primary emphasis on water quality and quantity. It has permanently protected from development more than 59,000 acres in Chester and Delaware counties in Pennsylvania, as well as New Castle County in Delaware. The Conservancy holds more than 440 conservation easements and owns more than 2,100 acres of land. 

The Brandywine Conservancy assisted with the founding of the Land Trust Alliance. To date, Brandywine is one of only 254 land trusts from across the country that are now accredited. Accredited land trusts are authorized to display a seal indicating to the public that they meet national standards for excellence, uphold the public trust and ensure that conservation efforts are permanent. 

"The Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art is one of the first land trusts to achieve renewed accreditation, a significant achievement for the land trust and significant major milestone for the accreditation program,” said commission executive director Tammara Van Ryn. “They are an important member of the 254 accredited land trusts that protect more than half of the 20,645,165 acres currently owned in fee or protected by a conservation easement held by a land trust. Accreditation renewal, which must be completed every five years, provides the public with an assurance that accredited land trusts continue to meet exceedingly high standards for quality."