Fall 2007

Supporting Traditional Economic Interests

Many Maine land trusts conserve properties that feed the local economy and sustain traditional ways of life. Unlike residential development, which can carry a high cost in long-term services, farmland, forest land, working waterfronts and recreational lands all provide an ongoing source of local revenue, and benefit many businesses. The following examples illustrate how land trusts are conserving and managing lands that strengthen the economy.

Community Farms: Scarborough Land Conservation Trust (SLCT) purchased the 434-acre Broadturn Farm (formerly the Meserve Farm) in 2004, in partnership with the Town of Scarborough, the State, The Trust for Public Land, and USDA’s Farm and Ranchland Protection Program. SLCT subsequently raised more than $200,000 to renovate the farmhouse and barn buildings and needs to raise $40,000 within the next year for more renovations. Through Farmlink (www.mainefarmlink.org), a program of Maine Farmland Trust that matches prospective farmers with farmland owners, SLCT found John Bliss and Stacy Brenner, who began managing the farm in 2006. They now provide organic vegetables and meat to nearly 80 members in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program and run a farm camp for young children.

Working Waterfront Access: For more than 150 years, Holbrook’s Wharf has anchored the community life of Cundy’s Harbor, Maine’s oldest commercial lobstering community. The property includes a restaurant, and once supported a general store and post office that made it the town’s social hub. When the property came up for sale, a group of local residents sought help from the Trust for Public Land and Harpswell Heritage Land Trust. Late last year, the Holbrook Community Foundation (a nonprofit formed to own and manage the property for the benefit of local residents) purchased the property to restore and protect the working waterfront property for the benefit of this fishing community.

Recreation and Sustainable Forestry: The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is working on an ambitious plan to foster nature-based tourism and land conservation in up to 100,000 acres within Maine’s 100-mile Wilderness Region (east of Greenville). To date, AMC has acquired the 37,000-acres Katahdin Iron Works tract and three sporting camps—Little Lyford Pond Camps, Medawisla Wilderness Camps and the Leon and Lisa Gorman Camps at Chairback Mountain. Visitors can ski, bike and hike between lodgings. Some of the lands purchased will be ecological reserves, while others allow for sustainable forestry to help meet local economic needs.

News from Our Members

Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association has completed its first buy-restrict-resell project, protecting the 90-acre Walker Farm in Alna. SVCA undertook a major fundraising effort to purchase the property in 2005, conserving its working fields and forests and undeveloped shorefrontage. The Association planned to sell the 200-year-old house and 10 acres to recoup some expenses but the house burned to the ground just before the closing. SVCA subsequently placed a stronger conservation easement on the property and found a local couple to purchase and farm the land (building a carefully sited off-the-grid house).

Community leaders and area residents recently joined in a celebration recognizing the Mt. Agamenticus to the Sea Conservation Initiative in York County for exceeding its fundraising and land protection goals, and successfully ensuring that more than 12,000 acres in the region will remain undeveloped. MTA2C also received an Environmental Merit Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its “exceptional work and commitment to the environment.”

Downeast Lakes Land Trust recently completed its second hiking trail. The 3.5-mile Pocumcus Lake Trail passes through several forest types and offers beautiful views from the shoreline of Pocumcus Lake. This project complements DLLT’s ongoing work to conserve working forests, create an ecological reserve and maintain traditional recreational access.

Pemaquid Watershed Association has created three public use trails on the La Verna Preserve (owned by The Nature Conservancy) in Round Pond. The 130-acre property with 3,600 feet on Muscongus Bay offers views of Louds and surrounding islands.

Kennebunk Land Trust recently protected 38 acres in the midst of downtown Kennebunk. The parcel comprises rich wetlands, forested areas and an exceptional, uninterrupted 2,438 feet of frontage along the Mousam River.

Island Heritage Trust celebrated the opening of its two newest preserves in the summer of 2007. Maine Coast Heritage Trust worked with IHT to preserve the beautiful fields, woods, and beaches of the 22-acre Scott’s Landing Preserve that borders Eggemoggin Reach. IHT’s newly dedicated 7-acre Pine Hill Preserve offers spectacular views of the Reach and protects rare plants that grow only on Pine Hill’s serpentinized peridotite.

Project Profile: Preservation at Sabbathday Lake

Conservation and preservation easements now protect the only active Shaker community in the world, located in New Gloucester, thanks to the collaborative effort of seven organizations and agencies, and countless supporters. The landowners worked with these groups for three years to protect an historic landscape encompassing an assembly of buildings and 1,700 acres of fields, orchards and woods that have been farmed continuously since the 1700s. At the heart of the property is 340-acre Sabbathday Lake, which has a public beach and nearly a mile of undeveloped shoreline.

“What made this project unusual was that the land’s former owners, the four remaining Shakers who work and worship on this land, and the partner groups sought to protect the place in its entirety,” notes Roxanne Eflin, former Executive Director of Maine Preservation, which now holds a preservation easement on the 19 buildings (all of them on the National Historic Register) that constitute the Shaker Village. “The hand-crafted buildings are part and parcel of the broader pastoral landscape shaped by generations of careful stewardship.”

It took teamwork and perseverance to draft integrated plans for land conservation and building preservation, and to raise the necessary funds to acquire the easements. The Trust for Public Land took a lead role in the project, working with the Royal River Conservation Trust and the New England Forestry Foundation (which now holds a conservation easement that allows for sustainable farming, forestry and low-impact recreation while preventing future development). A local nonprofit, Friends of the Shakers, collaborated with the landowners and Maine Preservation in helping to shape the preservation easement. The State’s Land for Maine’s Future Program and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (through its Farm and Ranchland Protection Program) provided critical grants toward the $3.95 million project cost. And generous grants from private foundations and individuals helped match that governmental support.

“Given the growing development pressures in this area, the appraised value of the conservation easement was high,” notes Sam Hodder, Senior Project Manager with the Trust for Public Land. “It was a challenge raising that much money, but we knew that the Shakers would be dedicating the funds to land and building stewardship so that the property would continue to be cared for well into the future.”

More than 10,000 people each year visit the Shaker Village to enjoy guided tours, craft demonstrations and workshops, and an extensive trail system. Much of the property will remain accessible for hiking, hunting, fishing, cross-country skiing, nature study and picnicking. Its fields and orchards will continue serving as a working farm and an important part of the state’s farming history.

Land Trust Standards and Practices

This is the sixth article in a 12-part series that describes the ethical and technical guidelines for operating a land trust responsibly. The following excerpts are adapted with permission from the Land Trust Standards and Practices: full text is available from the Land Trust Alliance (www.lta.org).

Land Trust Standard 6: Financial and Asset Management

The land trust manages its finances and assets in a responsible and accountable way.

Sound financial management allows land trusts to meet state and federal financial reporting requirements; respond to opportunities and threats; build credibility with funders; and avoid fraud or abuse. No matter who prepares financial reports, each board member needs to assure that the land trust’s funds and assets are managed in ways that fulfill public trust. They can rely on the advice of an experienced accountant. Boards may designate a treasurer (and/or finance committee) to help maintain accurate financial records.

Practice 6A:. Annual Budget

The land trust prepares an annual budget that is reviewed and approved by the board, or is consistent with board policy. The budget is based on programs planned for the year. Annual revenue is greater than or equal to expenses, unless reserves are deliberately drawn upon.

A well-defined budget process involves evaluating the previous year’s performance, setting goals for the upcoming year (through an annual work plan), monitoring progress toward those goals, and making needed adjustments. Budgeted expenses should advance the land trust’s mission and goals, and align with any strategic plan or framework (long-range) budget.

Practice 6B. Financial Records

The land trust keeps accurate financial records, in a form appropriate to its scale of operations and in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) or alternative reporting method acceptable to a qualified financial advisor.

Land trust personnel should rely on knowledgeable accountants to help select systems that capture their needed financial information and comply with GAAP.

Practice 6C. Financial Reports and Statements

The board receives and reviews financial reports and statements in a form and with a frequency appropriate for the scale of the land trust’s financial activity.

Financial reports should be timely (issued at least quarterly), relevant, understandable to users, and credible.

Practice 6D. Financial Review or Audit

The land trust has an annual financial review or audit, by a qualified financial advisor, in a manner appropriate for the scale of the organization and consistent with state law.

Practice 6E. Internal System for Handling Money

The land trust has established a sound system of internal controls and procedures for handling money, in a form appropriate for the scale of the organization.

Practice 6F. Investment and Management of

Financial Assets and Dedicated Funds

The land trust has a system for the responsible and prudent investment and management of its financial assets, and has established policies on allowable uses of dedicated funds and investment of funds.

Practice 6G. Funds for Stewardship and

Enforcement

The land trust has a secure and lasting source of dedicated or operating funds sufficient to cover the costs of stewarding its land and easements over the long term and enforcing its easements, tracks stewardship and enforcement costs, and periodically evaluates the adequacy of its funds. In the event that full funding for these costs is not secure, the board has adopted a policy committing the organization to raising the necessary funds.

Practice 6H. Sale or Transfer of Assets

(Including Land and Easements)

The land trust has established policies or procedures on the transfer or sale of assets, including real property.

Practice 6I. Risk Management and Insurance

The land trust assesses and manages its risks and carries liability, property, and other insurance appropriate to its risk exposure and state law. The land trust exercises caution before using its land to secure debt and in these circumstances takes into account any legal or implied donor restrictions on the land, the land trust’s mission and protection criteria, and public relations impact.

Stewards Corner: Forest Management

Land trusts that own woodlands can benefit from the experience and advice of knowledgeable foresters. “Forestry is about gathering information and making informed decisions, whether or not you intend to harvest timber,” explains Morten Moesswilde of the Maine Forest Service (MFS). MFS district foresters offer free consultations to conservation landowners, walking a property with them to identify key features and concerns, and to help them understand forest composition, history, health and dynamics. This consultation often provides considerable background, but for larger conservation properties or sites where harvesting is planned it may be advisable to hire to a consulting forester to develop a written Forest Management Plan.

A plan provides valuable baseline information and maps, and recommends ways to help achieve ownership goals—such as increasing diversity or controlling invasive species. If timber harvesting is desired and feasible, the plan can direct where and how cutting should occur. MFS foresters can help identify consulting foresters and advise about MFS programs to help defray costs (www.maine.gov/doc/mfs/woodswise/).

Moesswilde recommends shopping around for a forester, talking to other land trusts, and developing an RFP that outlines landowner goals. Forestry work on conserved lands is a “niche market,” he says, “and the pool of potential candidates gets smaller as the needs of your land trust get more specific and unique.” Invite prospective foresters to share references and samples of past plans, and to meet with land trust board and staff. The forester should be in a position to help implement the plan, including any timber harvesting. “It’s most efficient to establish an ongoing relationship with one forester,” Moesswilde notes.

Land trusts that want to add credibility to their management through Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification should seek out a forester with those credentials. In addition, two organizations (New England Forestry Foundation and Trust to Conserve Northeast Forests) hold a nonprofit group FSC certificate that can encompass other organizations. Those interested in certification can learn more at the following MFS site page: http://www.maine.gov/doc/mfs/certification/getcertified/smalllo_certification.html.

Loon Echo Land Trust in Bridgton formed a partnership in 2004 with Hancock Land, an FSC-certified timberland management company, for forestry management on two preserves totaling approximately 2,000 acres. “These two preserves could sustain some timber harvest without diminishing conservation or recreation values,” notes LELT Vice President Eric Dibner. At the start of the project, the LELT board adopted an Open Space Policy, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding based on this policy, and signed an agreement with Hancock Land to prepare written plans. The Trust then drafted Stewardship Plans for each preserve, and entered a Timber Sale Agreement for each proposed cut. Based on their experience with the initial two cuts, LELT’s stewardship director Carrie Walia offers the following advice:

• Clearly articulate your purpose and involve the public. Prepare them for features that may not be attractive—like patch cuts and slash piles—but are still beneficial for wildlife;
• Set designated areas aside for future older growth habitat; and
• Match the size of equipment to the size of the property and the desired outcome.

Ask an Attorney: Easement Drafting

By Karin Marchetti Ponte General Counsel to Maine Coast Heritage Trust

Question: I’ve heard there are new legal requirements for easement drafting in Maine. Can you summarize these changes and offer any general guidance on preparing easements?

To ensure that conservation easements in Maine continue to provide public benefits through time, a group of agencies and nonprofit organizations convened to recommend improvements to the Maine Conservation Easement Act. L.D. 1737, approved by the Legislature (and taking effect September 20, 2007) includes a number of statutory changes related to easement drafting. (The legislation includes other provisions relevant to land trusts: for a full summary, contact MLTN.)

All those who work on conservation projects should make note of the new drafting language and other legal changes:

Easement Standards (section 477-A(1)): Easements must contain a “statement of the conservation purposes of the easement, the conservation attributes associated with the real property, and the benefit to the general public intended to be served by the restriction on uses…”

Easement Amendments (477-A(2)): Easements must require that no amendment may “materially detract from the conservation values” without court approval (and the participation of the Attorney General’s office).

Easement Monitoring (477-A(3)): Holders must monitor the easement at least every three years and make a copy of the monitoring report available to the landowner.

In terms of general guidance, there are now “boilerplate provisions in a typical donated easement,” thanks to the Maine Land Conservation Attorneys Network (MLCAN). This advisory document is available on the MLTN website (http://www.mltn.org/resources/information_resources.html). Maine Coast Heritage Trust also has some internal guidelines for easement design that may be helpful for local land trust staff and volunteers (see sidebar below).

MCHT Guidelines for Easement Preparation

1. Keep the document clear and simple, and make sure that restrictions can be monitored through a physical inspection of the land (e.g., do not include provisions that would require a review of the landowner’s personal records). Make sure the conservation gain of each restriction outweighs the disadvantages of time and money spent monitoring and enforcing that restriction.
2. Attorney Drafting or Attorney Review. Have an attorney with conservation easement experience draft or review all easements.
3. Develop strong and specific conservation goals, but remember that the property’s conservation attributes may change over time.
4. Exclude major structures from easements where possible. If not, cluster structures and all other uses (wells, septic, pools, courts, etc.) into a small “building area.”
5. Obtain meaningful setbacks from water for allowed structures.
6. Avoid using terms like “not prominently visible” and “single family residential.” Instead specify quantifiable restrictions such as height, size, color, setbacks, vegetation management in front of the building area, and clustering.
7. In place of blanket prohibitions on commercial and industrial activity and on motor vehicles, restrict the harmful impacts (e.g., erosion and surface damage) and impose an obligation to restore damage.
8. Limit the width of driveways, trails and footpaths, and require that they have a permeable surface.
9. Admit the limits of the tool. Conservation easements can not control or achieve everything. They are not substitutes for ownership.

These guidelines represent some of those used by MCHT staff during the easement drafting process.

Laying the Groundwork for Accreditation: Organizational Assessments

As land trusts in Maine begin thinking ahead toward accreditation, many are taking preliminary steps to ensure that their work conforms to the Land Trust Standards and Practices (S&P). One of the first steps is often to complete a thorough organizational assessment, reviewing and updating policies to make sure they comply with the S&P. Land trusts around the country who have embarked on the accreditation process already, as part of the pilot program, report that these assessments are a critical foundation needed to complete the accreditation application.

Coastal Mountains Land Trust, the only Maine land trust in the Accreditation Commission national pilot program, first conducted a comprehensive review of its policies three years ago. Executive Director Scott Dickerson acknowledges that the review was a protracted and labor-intensive process that stretched over several months. It took some redrafting to make policies consistent with the Standards and Practices. “Few people enjoy reviewing, revising and rewriting policies,” he notes, “but we’ve been blessed with boards willing to take on that work.” Coastal Mountains then set up “implementation practices” for each policy. Dickerson feels that the organizational assessment was an excellent “benchmarking test, revealing where our strengths lay and what areas might need improvement.”

A team effort can help expedite the review process. York Land Trust, which recently completed a full assessment of its compliance with the Land Trust S&P, assigned the resulting work to committees as part of a broader strategic planning process. “Using the Alliance’s assessment book, we broke the standards down by committee to determine where we were with each one,” says YLT Executive Director Doreen MacGillis. “Delegating the work to staff-supported committees definitely made the process less overwhelming, but it still takes someone to shepherd the process who is familiar with all aspects of the land trust’s work.”

The Maine Land Trust Network’s new Circuit Rider Program can help land trusts in the organizational assessment process. For example, Deb Chapman (the new MLTN Circuit Rider) is working with the all-volunteer Three Rivers Land Trust (in western York County) to begin strategic planning. Chapman invited trust directors to complete the Land Trust Alliance’s 43-page assessment workbook, and she compiled their responses. TRLT Board President Jean Noon says that “completing the workbooks and discussing them in a 5-hour marathon meeting was an incredible and valuable exercise.” It helped identify what TRLT was doing well and where it could use help. Chapman will report back with recommendations to help TRLT better align with the Land Trust S&P. She also will provide assistance and resource information as the Trust begins writing a strategic plan.

As more land trusts in Maine, and elsewhere, undertake these assessments, there will be more models and sample materials to help land trusts learn from one another. Both MacGillis and Dickerson would like to see some standard, “boilerplate” policies that local trusts could adapt as needed. Maine Land Trust Network will be compiling some resources and helping facilitate the exchange of examples among trusts within the network. A curriculum that the Land Trust Alliance is developing to help trusts prepare for accreditation will include templates for adaptation.

For more information on the Commission’s accreditation process visit www.lta.org/accreditation.

Interested in getting started on an Organizational Assessment?

Land trusts serious about accreditation and self-improvment benefit from using an outside expert to guide the Organizational Assessment process. A facilitator well versed in conducting the assessment can ask critical questions and bring a wealth of information into the process.

The Maine Land Trust Network’s new Circuit Rider program offers just this service. For a minimal charge, land trusts can work with a trained, experienced staff person in the assessment process. Following the assessment, the Circuit Rider – Deb Chapman – can help an organization develop a work plan as well as provide other related services including:

• Systems Development
• Board and Committee Function
• Strategic planning
• Annual workplan development
• Policy development
• Staff & Board Transitions

For more information on this program visit http://www.mltn.org or call (207) 729-7366 and speak with Deb Chapman (Circuit Rider) or Megan Shore (Land Trust Coordinator). The services available through the Circuit Rider program are made possible in part by a generous gift from the Jessie B. Cox Charitable Trust.

Land for Maine’s Future Vote on November 6

On November 6, Maine residents will vote on five ballot questions. Question 4 is a $35.5 million bond request that includes funds for land conservation, Maine’s state parks and historic sites, riverfront community development, and working waterfront preservation. The question reads:

Do you favor a $35,500,000 bond issue to invest in land conservation, water access, wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation opportunities, including hunting and fishing, farmland and working waterfront and to invest in state parks, historic sites and riverfront, community and farm infrastructure to be matched by at least $21,875,000 in private and public contributions?

If passed, Question 4 would direct $17 million into the Land for Maine’s Future (LMF) Program which, over the last 20 years, has protected more than 440,000 acres of Maine’s most notable wildlife habitats, farmland, and unique natural places. On three previous occasions Maine voters overwhelmingly approved LMF bond measures, most recently with 65 percent of voter support in 2005.

In addition to supporting the LMF Program, Question 4 will direct $7.5 million toward critically needed maintenance and improvements at Maine’s state parks and historic sites. The bond also allocates $3 million in new funds to permanently protect coastal parcels important to Maine’s commercial fishing industry. Lastly, Question 4 proposes targeted investments in Maine’s riverfronts, communities and farmland. For more information on Question 4, contact Jeff Romano, MCHT’s policy coordinator, at jromano@mcht.org or 729-7366.

Upcoming MLTN Workshops and Meetings

October 25: “Marketing Plans for Mission, Members and Money,” in Bethel October 25: “Boards as Organizational Assets,” in Bethel October 26: “Integrated Strategy for Success and Sustainability,” in Bethel December 1: “Building Confidence in Your Volunteer Stewardship,” in Topsham December 11: MLTN Steering Committee meeting in Augusta (contact mshore@mcht.org for details)