The BRF works only within the Buffalo River's watershed, which allows a focused approach to land and water conservation. BRF's board of directors and advisory committee members either live within the watershed, own land there or have a special connection to the Buffalo River. BRF's success can only be accomplished by building new and strengthening existing relationships with local people and businesses who are critical to the river's future.

BRF works with many individuals and organizations to better understand cost-effective approaches to successful land conservation. Among those individuals and organizations, the following three will play an important role in developing our programs:

• The Land Trust Alliance, the national organization of land trusts, which works to ensure that land trusts have the information, skills, and resources they need to protect land through voluntary land conservation. BRF is a member of the LTA.

• The Ozark Regional Land Trust, also an LTA member land trust, headquartered in Missouri and having 25 years of experience in land protection with projects in Missouri and Arkansas.

• The Nature Conservancy, a national organization active in Arkansas which conserves lands for animals, plants and people. TNC has a long and successful track record of working with private landowners and businesses to accomplish conservation goals.

To become a member of the Land Trust Alliance, the BRF adopted LTA's Land Trust Standards and Practices. These are guidelines for the responsible operation of a land trust, which is run legally, ethically, and in the public interest and conducts a sound program of land transactions and stewardship.

The Buffalo River Foundation has no salaried staff. Instead, BRF is run by volunteers passionate about the river and surrounding lands. A number of them serve as BRF's board of directors or on the BRF's advisory committee. The board of directors meets periodically to determine BRF's strategic direction and to set policies to carry on the mission, to oversee finances and operations, and to review and approve every potential land and easement transaction. The advisory committee meets annually and provides guidance on BRF's activities. Volunteers working on property deals may meet much more frequently. Special projects might also require the development of teams tasked with specific projects.