NATCHEZ &8212; Don Morrow made one thing very clear as he spoke to the Natchez Rotary Club Wednesday &8212; he did not come to Natchez to tell the city what to do with its land.

Morrow, director of projects for the Southeast region of Trust for Public Land, came on a fact-finding mission, intrigued by what information he did have as to whether TPL could have a role in long-range planning for city-owned property overlooking the Mississippi River.

&8220;I&8217;m here on an exploratory trip,&8221; Morrow said.

&8220;I&8217;m here to learn what the issues are here. I look to communities to provide answers,&8221; he said.

Ken P&8217;Pool, director of preservation for the state Department of Archives and History, attended the meeting. Afterward, he said organizations like Trust for Public Land play important roles in helping government agencies carry out plans for land use.

&8220;A not-for-profit organization like this can step in and hold property until a governmental agency can get its act together,&8221; P&8217;Pool said.

The public space along the Natchez riverfront is important not just to the community but to the world at large, he said. &8220;It&8217;s one of the great public spaces of America; I would say of the world. There is no better quality view than you see in Natchez looking at the river.&8221;

P&8217;Pool said those who see it often may fail to realize what impact the view has on people who see it for the first time.

&8220;I never cease to have that &8216;wow&8217; sensation when I see that view.&8221;

Trust for Public Land is a national organization formed in 1972 that works with others to protect land for use as parks, historical landmarks, conservation areas and other categories of land set aside in trust for the future.

Morrow said privately owned spaces are disappearing by 3 million acres a year. Furthermore, housing density is increasing. &8220;As the population changes, options for land uses also change.&8221;

The Trust has a history in Natchez, having purchased the historic house Melrose to hold it in trust until the National Park Service could acquire it when funding was authorized in 1990.

&8220;We can&8217;t save everything,&8221; Morrow said.

&8220;And we don&8217;t come into a community to tell you what to do. Those decisions are for the local community.&8221;

At a meeting of about 35 Natchez residents at the library Wednesday evening, citizens had the opportunity to ask Morrow questions.

One subject that came up was if the TPL would help with developing a vision. Morrow said he sadly did not have the funds to do that, but that the community must come up with a collective vision before his organization could act.

Morrow also said in a talk with Mayor Phillip West, the mayor suggested TPL could be used to buy land for parks in under-served areas of the community.

When asked if he had seen communities with different views cooperate and come to an agreed-upon vision, Morrow said he had and suggested the city government and citizens sit down and talk to try to work out any differences in vision.

Open space and parks are an economic driver, he said, that can bring the community together.

Morrow specifically addressed the northern parts of the bluff.

&8220;It&8217;s there where you run into private property,&8221; Morrow said.

&8220;It&8217;s always more difficult to acquire lands once a landowner has made plans. It&8217;s very, very hard to do.&8221;

He said although the organization does rarely place restrictions on how a piece of land is to be used once it is transferred to a governmental steward, it doesn&8217;t happen often. It is not TPL&8217;s place to make decisions, he said, but up to the government, who answer to the people.