Acquisition of land by ANR for recreational and conservation purposes is guided by a 1999 Land Conservation Plan and done through fee simple purchase of property, purchase of interests (conservation easements), and acceptance of donations. In general, the acquisition process has many steps and can be cumbersome, is often both time-sensitive while taking a significant amount of time, lacks transparency, and often requires significant legal and survey resources. Additionally, the acquisition process is not keeping up with the LARC process leading to a significant backlog of projects. There is a backlog of several dozen approved acquisitions totaling approximately $12 million. Furthermore, there are other ANR teams or committees that often duplicate LARC’s review of proposed acquisition projects. As such, an opportunity existed to streamline the process and the role of LARC, reduce unnecessary redundancy, explore opportunities for resources sharing, and improve the timeliness of acquisitions.