North Central Conservancy Trust (NCCT) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization created to hold conservation easements on privately owned property, and title to property held in fee simple ownership. NCCT began in Wausau in 1994, when the city proposed to cross an undeveloped parcel of land with a sewer line. The owners, Mary Clare and Joe Freeman, loved their land, and did not want to see the woodland severely compromised by construction of a sewer. They were supported in their effort to oppose the construction by a neighbor, Jane Raymond-Wood, who contacted the Nature Conservancy for advice. They suggested a conservation easement, which the Freemans pursued. Needing an organization to hold the easement, the Freemans and Raymond-Wood recruited others who also were interested in protecting green-space and natural areas near Wausau, and NCCT was officially established as a non-profit organization. A few years later, the Wausau group joined forces with a similar group in Stevens Point, and the organization expanded. NCCT now serves eight counties in central Wisconsin, with over sixty easements protecting over 5,200 acres, as well as holding title to four properties in Marathon, Waushara, and Portage counties.