Spatial and temporal patterns of public and private land protection within the Blue Ridge and Piedmont ecoregions of the eastern US

•Landscape configuration matters for conserving biodiversity and ecosystem function.•Private land conservation may serve an important role in future land protection.•Compared to public protected lands, private lands are smaller, and more isolated.•Management either allows for extraction or is unknown in private protected lands.•Work is needed to improve the effectiveness of land protection as a conservation tool.