2010 Maine Land Conservation Conference
Workshops – Session A: Saturday, May 1st 10:30 – 12:00
A1: A Step-by-Step Guide to Land Acquisition
Ready to accept your first gift of land or tackle your first preserve purchase? This workshop will discuss the steps necessary to achieve your goal of land ownership. We will cover everything from doing a preliminary assessment of the property to which documents you and the landowner will need to sign at closing. The workshop is primarily designed for beginners but will be a good refresher for all. Beginner
Presenter: Betsy Ham, Maine Coast Heritage Trust
A2: Alternative Energy and Conservation - From Local to Global
What do land trusts need to think about in order to prepare for the decisions they and their boards will have to make regarding alternative energies? This workshop will consider the questions that need to be asked, policies and procedures that need to be in place, and how to balance local issues with global issues. All
Presenters: Scott Cowger, Maple Hill Bed & Breakfast and Conference Center; John Kerry, Governor’s Office of Energy Independence and Security; Glen Marquis, Ocean Renewable Power Corp; and Marjorie Stratton, Town of Vinalhaven
A3: Easements Standing the Test of Time
In this session we’ll look at the language in several older easements to examine wording, phrases and context that have proved troublesome or that truly have stood the test of time. We’ll review possible problems in stewardship created by older language and discuss solutions, both in theory and from actual case histories. Suggestions on solutions to the problems associated with stewarding these easements and on using alternative language in newer easements will be discussed. As time allows, there will be group discussion of problems encountered by those attending. Advanced
Presenters: Jane Arbuckle, Maine Coast Heritage Trust and Fred Stocking, Attorney at Law
A4: Important Bird Areas
A crucial step in conserving Maine’s birds is to identify the areas of the state that are most important for breeding, wintering, and migration. That is the goal of the Important Bird Areas (IBA) program. This session will review the IBA program in Maine and around the world, with maps for consideration of existing and potential IBAs in the state, and guidelines for IBA identification. We will review data collection protocols for gathering bird information, and participants will brainstorm and discuss ways land trust members might become actively engaged in on-going bird survey and monitoring work as a way to support the IBA program and engage community members in conservation. All
Presenter: Sarah Gallo, Maine Audubon
A5: Public Participation in Conservation Planning
Developing a conservation plan, whether for a specific property or a broader region, can be a big undertaking. While engaging the public in this effort increases the scope of work, it also amplifies the benefits. This workshop will explore the techniques and resources needed to be successful, including: questionnaires, targeted outreach, gathering data, and decision support tools such as key pad polling and GIS mapping. All
Presenters: Jeremy Gabrielson, Washington County Council of Governments & Downeast Coastal Conservancy and Tin Smith, Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve
A6: Successful Capital Campaigns
Successful capital campaigns can be run by organizations of all sizes. This workshop will provide you with some of the essential tools that are required to launch a capital campaign. Participants will hear stories from land trusts of varying sizes and complexity that ran successful capital campaigns to help fund their ambitious land protection projects. All
Presenters: Connie Cross, Loon Echo Land Trust; Scott Dickerson, Coastal Mountains Land Trust; and Doreen MacGillis, York Land Trust
A7: Getting the Details Right in Your Fundraising Program
The laws governing charitable solicitations are intended to protect members of the general public from fraudulent or misleading practices and to ensure that tax deductions are granted only for legitimate charitable donations. Well- meaning organizations that support these goals can nonetheless lose track of the detailed requirements of those laws. This workshop will help you understand your organization’s responsibilities to donors and to the regulatory agencies that oversee charities, and will demonstrate a tool for managing maze of state-level requirements. All
Presenter: Barb Welch, Barb Welch Consulting
A8: Organizational Excellence: A Guide for Board Members - Part 1
An essential element of organizational excellence is a high-functioning board with the power to last, lead and connect the organization with its community. This two-part workshop will look at how the board can create a team to lead the organization to higher levels of achievement. In this first session, we will look at effective ways to build a board, committee functions, creating a manageable work load, and preparing board members for their responsibilities as the organization evolves. All
Presenter: Judy Anderson, Community Consultants. You may also recognize Judy’s name from the Land Trust Alliance’s Learning Center website, where she answers questions and offers her insights on all kinds of land trust issues via the “Ask an Expert” forum.
A9: Choosing What to Protect in the Face of Climate Change
Climate change has the very real potential to change our landscapes as well as our plant and wildlife habitats in many ways. Land trusts currently use a variety of means for ascertaining not only which properties are important to conserve now, but also what is important to conserve because of its future conservation values. This workshop will focus on how to integrate some aspects of climate change into conservation planning, and will present some tools to help do so. Intermediate
Presenters: Andrew Cutko, Maine Natural Areas Program; Steve Walker, Beginning With Habitat; and Andrew Whitman, Maine Center for Conservation Sciences
A10: Creating an Effective, Visitor-Centered Website for Your Land Trust
Does your current website leave something to be desired? Are you planning a first-ever website for your organization? This workshop will discuss approaches to creating a nonprofit website that allows better contact with membership, integration of fundraising and other initiatives, and ways to encourage organic pathways throughout your site. We will focus on the “big picture” rather than the technical side, covering sound website planning and developing content appropriate for your target audience. Beginner/Intermediate
Presenter: Patrick Corey, OVOO Creative
A11: Models of Collaboration
Join a panel discussion exploring ways land trusts can share resources to be more efficient and effective in their work. We will present two case studies of such collaborative efforts and hope participants will bring additional examples. All
Presenters: Jessica Burton, Portland North Land Trust Collaborative; Carrie Kinne, Kennebec Estuary Land Trust; and Angela Twitchell, Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
