The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) has received national accreditation by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance. INHF, a nonprofit conservation organization, is the first land trust in Iowa to earn accreditation. Since the commission’s founding in 2006, 130 land trusts have achieved an accredited status. Each of these land trusts must continue complying with accreditation standards, conduct periodic organizational assessments and renew its accreditation every five years. Most INHF land project sites are now open to the public as state and county parks, wildlife areas, preserves and trails. Others remain in private ownership but are protected by permanent conservation easements.