Open Space Institute

09/23/2026

We’re hiring! OSI is seeking a Program Operations Associate to join our Conservation Innovation (CI) team in New York City.

This person will handle all administrative aspects of the CI programs, including coordinating program activities, supporting grant processing and reporting, tracking project deliverables, and more.

We’re looking for a highly organized, detail-oriented professional with strong communication skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities.

Know someone who might be a great fit? Tag them in the comments.

Learn more and apply: https://j.brt.mv/jb.do?reqGK=27785553&refresh=true

09/22/2026

The Appalachian Mountain Region stretches across 18 states, forming the longest intact north-south wildlife migration corridor in the eastern United States.

reminds us that this scale matters. As the climate changes, keeping this landscape connected gives plants and wildlife more room to move and adapt, while protecting forests and clean water for communities.

Through our Appalachian Landscapes Project, OSI is bringing together funding, science, planning, and partnerships so conservationists can act at the speed and scale our nation—and everyone in it—needs. In our first round of grants alone, we are supporting projects that will protect an incredible 105,000 acres.

Climate change does not stop at property or state lines. Conservation cannot either.

Explore OSI’s Appalachian Landscapes Project: https://www.openspaceinstitute.org/funds/appalachian-landscapes-project

Photo Credit: Bill Amos

09/21/2026

The forests and soils of Mt. Cathalia already store a remarkable 132,000+ metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions – and that is only part of what this 440-acre landscape on New York's Shawangunk Ridge holds. This OSI-protected property provides wildlife habitat, safeguards drinking water, and helps connect surrounding conserved lands.

During , the Mt. Cathalia project is a powerful example of what climate action can look like on the ground: safeguarding one important place can conserve a lot of what people, wildlife, and the climate depend on.

Learn more about OSI’s work in the Gunks: https://www.openspaceinstitute.org/news/mt-cathalia

Photo Credits: Greg Miller Photography, Eric Krieger

09/18/2026

We’re hiring! OSI is seeking a Director/Senior Director of Government Relations to lead our New York State policy and advocacy work.

Based in Albany, NY, this person will serve as OSI’s lead government relations strategist, working to strengthen conservation funding, build coalitions, inform public policy, advance land protection, and expand access to public lands across the state.

Know someone who might be a great fit? Please share this opportunity with them.

Learn more and apply: https://j.brt.mv/jb.do?reqGK=27784941&refresh=true

09/11/2026

Tennessee’s Head of the Crow State Park will soon offer hikers, cavers, birdwatchers, and others more to explore! Thanks to support from OSI, 550 acres have been added to the park, which sits within one of the most ecologically diverse regions of the Southern Cumberland Plateau. With this latest addition, the state park will encompass more than 4,200 acres.

The expansion safeguards forests, streams, and caves in one of Tennessee’s most spectacular natural areas, providing habitat for unique species, including the painted tiger snail and Morefield’s leatherflower.

The acquisition was supported by OSI’s Appalachian Landscapes Protection Fund, in collaboration with TennGreen Land Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy in Tennessee, The Conservation Fund, and other partners.

https://www.openspaceinstitute.org/news/head-of-the-crow-1

Project protects the headwaters of Crow Creek and habitat for rare species on South Cumberland Plateau, a wildlife hotspot

09/10/2026

Travel + Leisure recently took readers inside South Carolina’s new Black River State Park, highlighting the paddling, wildlife watching, and quiet stretches of river that make this place so remarkable.
For us here at OSI, seeing people enjoy the park is an exciting chapter in a story years in the making.

OSI and partners launched the Black River Initiative in 2021 with an ambitious vision: to create a connected network of public parks and launches along 70 miles of the Black River, while working with communities to create new ways for people to safely enjoy this extraordinary place. Today, South Carolina’s first-ever riverine state park is connecting places and people along the spellbinding Black River.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/south-carolina-black-river-state-park-12035064

Black River State Park is South Carolina’s first (and only) riverine park.

09/09/2026

OSI recently acquired a 316-acre property in the Town of Warwick, New York, which will ultimately become a new Town park for residents and visitors.

The property is nearly adjacent to Wawayanda State Park in New Jersey and less than a mile from the Appalachian Trail, creating exciting possibilities to connect existing trails with a much larger network of parks and trails across state lines.

The property will remain closed during OSI’s ownership while the site is prepared for its future as a public park.

Learn more about the project and OSI’s work to conserve more than 27,000 acres in the region: https://www.openspaceinstitute.org/news/warwick-cc-2

Project delivers wins for public recreation and wildlife habitat in major conservation focus area

09/08/2026

Take a trip to western Maine in this video highlighting the Magalloway Lands and Waters project—a remarkable OSI-supported effort conserving 78,000 acres of forests, rivers, wetlands, and wildlife habitat across one of the wildest regions of the Northeast.
Funded in part by OSI’s Appalachian Landscapes Project, the initiative brought together the Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust, Forest Society of Maine, Northeast Wilderness Trust, and The Nature Conservancy to help connect a corridor of more than half a million acres of protected lands.

The project keeps extensive forests and wetlands undeveloped, maintains opportunities for outdoor recreation, supports the region’s working forest economy, and secures important habitat for wildlife.

Scroll down to watch the video to check out this extraordinary landscape:
https://www.openspaceinstitute.org/news/magalloway

Project Supports Regional Timber Economy, Secures Recreational Opportunities, and Protects Important Wildlife Habitats

09/05/2026

There will soon be more room to hike, fish, paddle, and explore at Kings Mountain State Park. 🌲🥾

OSI has acquired nearly 600 acres in York County, South Carolina, setting the stage for a major expansion of the park. Across its forests, rolling pastures, wetlands, and streams, the land provides important habitat and room for wildlife to move while supporting clean water. Once transferred to South Carolina State Parks, it will also create more opportunities for hiking, fishing, paddling, wildlife viewing, and other outdoor recreation.

Learn more about the project:

At OSI, we protect land for people, for habitat, forever.

09/04/2026

Nearly 1,000 acres of southern Appalachian wilderness slated for intensive development are now permanently protected.

OSI and the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust recently conserved the Trout Creek property in western North Carolina, safeguarding a remarkable landscape of forests, streams, varied elevations, and climate-resilient microhabitats.
As temperatures rise and weather becomes more extreme, this property’s diverse habitats provide plants and wildlife with places to adapt and thrive in a warming world.

https://www.openspaceinstitute.org/news/trout-creek-1

Photo courtesy of Andrew Renfro, Land Conservation Director at the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust.

Slated for development, one of area's largest remaining intact forested landscapes now protected forever