'woodland-preserving' originates from Modern English, specifically the compound of 'woodland' and 'preserve', where 'woodland' meant 'an area of trees or woods' and 'preserve' meant 'to keep safe or maintain.'

'woodland' comes from Old English elements such as 'wudu' (wood) + 'land' and developed into the Modern English 'woodland'; 'preserve' derives from Latin 'praeservare' via Old French and Middle English. The compound 'woodland-preserving' is a modern English formation combining these elements to describe conserving woods.

Initially the components referred separately to 'woods' and 'to keep safe'; over time, the compound came to be used specifically for actions or policies that conserve woodland areas, a narrowing to environmental/protective sense.