In 1965, The Open Space Council was founded with the specific purpose of protecting lands of conservation interest. Many things have changed since 1965, and the field of land conservation has grown considerably. In order to continue to be an effective advocate for natural resources, we at the Open Space Council must continually educate ourselves on all the available tools out there for the protection of land. To that end, the entire staff of the Open Space Council recently attended a 4-day Land Trust Toolbox workshop hosted by the Land Trust Alliance at Pere Marquette State Park. The workshop was a thorough overview of some of the most important and basic elements of land protection such as negotiating a conservation deal, easement monitoring, and tax issues. In addition to our individual efforts, the Open Space Council is currently partnering with land trusts and other conservation organizations in Missouri to form a state-wide land trust coalition to share information and resources so that we can all grow in effectiveness together.