This presentation will focus on successful partnerships between land conservation organizations and local governments working to complete property acquisitions in flood risk areas, particularly areas of sea level rise inundation. This work is modeled off the concept of a Shoreline Adaptation Land Trust, developed by John Englander. The session will include presentations from two states, Virginia and Louisiana. In Virginia, Wetlands Watch is developing a program strategy and community of practice that will help local governments overcome barriers to complete property acquisitions in flood risk areas. Most localities, particularly those located in coastal Virginia, where the impacts of sea level rise are acutely felt, do not have active acquisition programs. While there are many reasons why buyouts are not pursued in communities, such as lack of political will, capacity constraints, and grant writing inexperience, one barrier is of particular interest and the subject of this presentation. Local government staff do not specialize in land conservation management. As the number of acquired parcels in a community increases commensurate with the increased risk from sea level rise, the land management responsibilities grow exponentially for local government staff. How can localities keep up with the financial and programmatic burden of managing vacant parcels? Wetlands Watch hopes land conservation and other land management organizations can offer one solution to this problem. This presentation will discuss work to date in partnership with an urban land trust, the Living River Trust, on connecting land conservation and management organizations with local governments removing people from flood risk. The presentation will describe the work of a multi-year pilot project with the Cities of Norfolk and Chesapeake that explores the concepts of a Shoreline Adaptation Land Trust. The presentation will detail the creation of a community of practice that connects land trusts with local government hazard mitigation and floodplain management program staff to acquire flood risk properties. In Louisiana, the Louisiana Watershed Initiative and the Louisiana Land Trust are functioning like a Shoreline Adaptation Land Trust. The presentation, given by representatives from the LA Watershed Initiative and the LA Land Trust, will discuss the Statewide Buyouts Program, a voluntary program that provides property buyouts in flood-prone areas, as part of the Louisiana Watershed Initiative’s efforts to reduce flood risk throughout Louisiana. The buyout program, which is designed to primarily benefit low- to moderate-income residents, offers an incentive—payment above fair market value—to eligible applicants who relocate to areas of lower flood risk. The presentation will review the work that the program has accomplished to date along with highlighting the relationship established between the Louisiana Office of Community Development and the Louisiana Land Trust. The presentation will also review the resettlement of Isle de Jean Charles, home of the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Tribe.