DAVIDSON  – The first census of land trusts in five years found 10 million new acres conserved nationwide since 2005, including 339,669 acres in North Carolina.

Land trusts now protect 47 million acres, an area more than twice the size of all the national parks in the United States, and local and state land trusts, like Davidson Lands Conservancy, account for much of that land.

In North Carolina, land trusts conserved more 130,000 acres between 2005 and 2010, a 64 percent increase in land protected.

In the last five years, Davidson Land Conservancy has played a significant role in the protection of 740 acres of private and publicly owned lands. Since 2005, they have helped acquired the 8-acre Haven Hill Farm and 243-acre former Abersham property.

“Davidson residents value their land, and we are conserving it at the community level,” Roy Alexander, executive director of the Davidson lands Conservancy, said in a news release. Find more information at the local group’s website, www.davidsonlands.org.