RENSSELAERVILLE — The Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve, founded in 1931, has now joined a national network of 398 accredited land trusts.

“Accreditation demonstrates the Huyck Preserve’s long-standing dedication to fulfilling its multi-pronged mission, starting with a core commitment to protecting its 2,000-plus acres and ultimately connecting the community with the land and nature through education, research, and recreation,” said Susan Kessler, president of the Huyck Preserve’s board of directors, in a release from the preserve. “A walk along the trails of the Huyck Preserve can be magical, and our accreditation ensures that future generations will experience that same feeling.”

The preserve offers 12 miles of trails for year-round passive recreation, giving visitors access to picturesque forests, fields, wetlands, Lake Myosotis, Lincoln Pond, and the 120-foot Rensselaerville Falls, a site that draws visitors from near and far.

The preserve also offers education programs to regional school groups and families and is celebrating its 80-year anniversary as a biological research station this year. The station conducts long-term research on natural systems as part of a global effort to understand and protect the Earth’s biodiversity.

The Huyck Preserve is one of 1,363 land trusts across the United States, according to the most recent National Land Trust Census, released Dec. 1, 2016 by the Land Trust Alliance. Accredited land trusts have stronger systems and more resources to steward and defend their conserved lands forever. As a result, the public’s trust in land conservation has increased, helping to win support for federal, state and local conservation funding measures, according t the release.

Founded in 1982, the Land Trust Alliance is a national land conservation organization that represents 1,000-member land trusts supported by more than 200,000 volunteers and 4.6 million members nationwide, according to the release. The Alliance is based in Washington, D.C., and operates several regional offices including one in Saratoga Springs.

The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, established in 2006, is an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance.