Welcome!

The Evergreen Land Trust Association holds cooperative houses, farms, and forestlands in the Puget Sound region of Washington State. As members of the Association, we live on or nearby the properties that are entrusted to our care, and govern the organization democratically.

We view land not as a commodity to be sold on the open market for profit, but as a common resource to steward for future generations. We know that resource depletion and housing affordability are becoming serious problems. The Evergreen Land Trust Association is one small part of a growing effort to find viable and ethical solutions.

On this website you will find information about who we are, and why we believe land trusts are an important tool for keeping land accessible and bountiful. We thank you for your interest, and invite you to browse here for ideas and tools that may be useful to you.

How does the trust work?

What is Evergreen Land Trust's model?

All of the properties of the Evergreen Land Trust (ELT) are legally held in trust, with charitable purposes defined in a trust agreement and use agreement. Through the use agreement, ELT delegates the responsibility for management of the property to the people who live there. When you live on an ELT property, you agree to act cooperatively with others.  You commit to the purposes and responsibilities outlined in the use agreement.  Learning to share rural land, or an urban house, is part of what makes ELT unique.  

Policies provide guidance.

Evergreen Land Trust has policies that are designed to help reduce the risk of conflict between the people who care for trust properties. The policies also ensure the sustainability of the trust and protect the property for future generations. ELT policies outline property acquisition, stewardship, membership, administration, finance, loans, taxes and insurance and donations/grants/fundraising.

Because ELT communities are all different — small and large, rural and urban — each community also creates its own agreements for how they will work together. 

The work of the board.

The ELT board is elected each year by the membership, and generally includes representatives from each community and members at large.  The size of the board varies between 15-18 members. The board’s responsibility is to establish policies and ensure that each community upholds its use agreement and improves the property for future generations.