MLTN Infoline – September 23, 2025
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Inspiration for Your Land Trust: Leading Your Land Trust to Be the Best Place to Work
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Working at a land trust is usually a wonderful thing – it’s work with purpose, can involve lots of time spent out of doors, and these days many land trusts offer a flexible schedule. But if we’re being honest, there are other things about working at a land trust (or any small nonprofit for that matter) that can be frustrating. Are you ready for some inspiration and ideas on how to create a vital, fun, and rewarding workplace? Join Andy Robinson and a panel of land trust leaders for the upcoming Land Trust Alliance webinar Leading Your Land Trust to Be the Best Place to Work on October 15th from 2:00-3:30pm. This panel-style webinar will feature land trust leaders who have created amazing places to work, and they’ll share values, strategies and true stories about equitable compensation and benefits, professional development, career advancement, and more. These land trusts are:
The cost for the webinar is $75 for LTA members or $140 for non-members. (If you purchased an All Access Pass for this year, this webinar is included.)
As we continue work on our MLTN strategic plan, we are also thinking about how the Network and MCHT can support Maine land trusts as they strive to build strong, vibrant, organizations that attract and retain the best candidates to their workplaces. Join us at the regional meetings to talk more about this and other ideas that impact our strategic thinking.
Angela, Megan, Katia, Ciona, Donna, and Jeff
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State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Survey
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Maine is updating its Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP)—and they want to hear from you! Outdoor recreation is an essential part of life in Maine. From hiking trails and water access sites to ballfields and snowmobile routes, these spaces are used by residents and visitors alike. To ensure Maine’s outdoor recreation resources continue to meet community needs and reflect statewide priorities, insights from the people who use and manage these places every day are needed. Your feedback will help:
There are two separate surveys, and we invite you to complete the one or both that best matches your experience.
For Outdoor Recreation Users
If you’re someone who ATV’s, hikes, bikes, hunts, fishes, paddles, plays sports, camps, or otherwise enjoys outdoor recreation in Maine, this survey is for you.
For Outdoor Recreation Providers
If you work in municipal, state, tribal, or nonprofit outdoor recreation—or help manage public lands, trails, facilities, or programming—please share your perspective on the challenges and opportunities you see.
Your responses will directly inform the 2025 Maine SCORP. Completing a survey takes just 15 minutes, and your perspective can make a direct impact on setting priorities for the next 10 years.
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Protecting Ash, Preserving Traditions
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Saturday, September 27th, 2025 10:00am-4:00pm Wildlands, Half Mile Field, Don Fish Road, Orland
Registration is free, but donations are encouraged to sponsor the basketmaker’s time
With the quickening spread of the invasive emerald ash borer across Maine, and recently into Hancock and Waldo counties, landowners, town employees, foresters and conservationists are looking for guidance around how to respond and protect ash trees. Great Pond Trust and the Ash Protection Collaboration Across Waponahkik (APCAW) lab out of UMaine present this all-day event that will discuss the cultural and ecological importance of ash trees, and delve into strategies such as biocontrol, monitoring, treatments, ecological silviculture, and lingering ash searches. Featured talks include representatives from Maine Forest Service, the City of Bangor, Maine TREE, APCAW, and foresters. We will also be hosting Wabanaki basketmakers to demonstrate the process of brown ash basketmaking for the audience.
Learn more and register here.
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“Out” In The World: LGBTQIA+ Perspectives On Outdoor Accessibility In Maine
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Sunday, September 28, 2025
10:00am-4:00pm Adaptive Outdoor Education Center, 675 Old Portland Road, Brunswick
Cost: FREE
Join Queerly ME and BRIDGE Maine for a day of discussions and activities centering LGBTQIA+ people with disabilities in Maine.
This event will feature a Q&A panel made up of 4-5 panelists who are LGBTQIA+ with a disability to discuss their experience with accessibility in outdoor spaces and LGBTQIA+ spaces, as well as a community forum where facilitators will provide discussion prompts related to the lived experience of LGBTQIA+ people with disabilities for small breakout groups to consider. There will be a Deaf / Hearing ASL interpreting team present for the duration of the panel and community forum.
Throughout the day there will be outdoor equipment demos, a low sensory room, and socializing and networking.
View the agenda, learn more, and register here.
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MLTN Lunch & Learn: Mergers
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Thursday, October 2, 2025
12:00-1:00pm
Speakers: Megan Shore and Several colleagues featured in the merger stories
Cost: FREE but registration is required
Join us for a Lunch & Learn exploring highlights from the recently published report Maine Land Trust Mergers: Stories and Insights. The session will begin with an overview of the report’s key themes and findings, followed by ample time for discussion and collective wisdom-sharing around mergers, sustained collaboration, and the leadership qualities that make them successful.
Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT) offers grants of up to $25,000 to support land trusts exploring or implementing advanced collaboration, realignment, or merger. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Learn more on our website.
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What Nonprofits Need to Know About the Current Federal Grant Landscape
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Monday, October 6, 2025 via Zoom 3:00pm
Cost: FREE
Many nonprofits are struggling to understand how to best navigate recent changes to federal grants. Register for a free national webinar hosted by the National Council of Nonprofits on what nonprofits need to consider as they plan for future federal grants – from what to think about in the application process, how to navigate new grant certifications, and how to plan for new processes.
**Please note: this webinar will not be recorded**
Learn more and register here.
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The Resourced Nonprofit: The Fundamental Attributes of a Sustainable Community Organization
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Four Tuesdays, October 7, 14, 21, & 28, 2025 via Zoom 1:00-2:30pm
Cost: $80 for MANP members*, $160 for non-members
This event is possible thanks to a partnership between Maine Association of Nonprofits and Nonprofit Association of Washington
The advancement of every nonprofit’s mission is dependent on leveraging a strong foundation of diverse and sustainable resources to do the work. Sustainability is the result of cultivating long-term buy-in and loyalty from growing numbers of people and organizations, building significant reputation equity, and demonstrating impact.
In this workshop series, explore the cultivation and leveraging of sustainable equity from key relationships that advance an organization’s mission through the following questions:
Learn more and get link and code to register on partner website at MANP’s website.
*Most MLTN members are MANP members. Contact us to check your organization’s MLTN membership status.
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Becoming a Stewardship-Focused Land Trust
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Thursday, October 9, 2025 via Zoom
2:00-3:30pm
Cost: $75 for LTA members, $140 for non-members
As land trusts continue to protect more land, many organizations need to focus on their stewardship programs. Your organization could probably use some ideas from other land trusts that are working on the same thing. As a stewardship practitioner or other land trust decision maker, you have questions about budgeting, staff capacity, using volunteers, tech stacks, workflows and more. Join presenters to learn more about:
Learn more and register at LTA’s website.
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Acadia National Park Science Symposium
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Tuesday, October 7 (virtual only): What Drives Early-Career Environmental Science Professionals? Why do we do this work? Gain insights as they present their perspectives in a series of ten-minute lightning talks. Learn more here.
Thursday, October 16 (in-person and virtual): A full day of symposium events, including speaker sessions, networking opportunities, poster sessions, and lunch at Schooner Commons (included in registration). Learn more here. Hosted by Schoodic Institute and the National Park Service, the Acadia National Park Science Symposium provides a forum to learn about science taking place in the region and to interact and build collaborations with scientists, educators, students, park staff, and others working in a range of fields. The theme of this year’s symposium is wildlife.
The symposium will take place in-person at Moore Auditorium on the Schoodic Institute campus (Winter Harbor, ME) and online via Zoom. This virtual option is open to speakers and attendees alike. Your registration for in-person attendance includes morning coffee and pastries, lunch, full access to our morning and afternoon poster sessions and speaker sessions, and more.
Get all the details and register at the Schoodic Institute website.
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Jobs in the Conservation Sector
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We share the newest additions to our jobs page each week here, and you can always view the full list on our website. 1700 HR Environmental Steward – Maine Conservation Corps
Human Resources Manager – Maine Audubon
1700 HR Community Tree Steward – Maine Conservation Corps
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Final Reminder: L.L.Bean Maine Land Trust Grant Program
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Applications due: by email, 11:59pm Friday, September 26 Even though the deadline is a few days away, there’s still time to apply to this popular program supported by our friends at L.L.Bean. The application is not long or complicated, and if you’ve applied for another grant recently you can likely repurpose most of the content. We fund projects that enhance public access to conserved lands by increasing stewardship capacity, facilitate management planning, and enhance programming to promote outdoor activities, especially for underserved populations.
Visit the MLTN Regrant page for details, list of past awards, and the application.
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National Fish Passage Program
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Applications due no later than 11:59pm December 31, 2025
The National Fish Passage Program (NFPP) provides technical and financial assistance to partners to remove instream barriers and restore aquatic connectivity, improve community safety, and support local economies. Fish passage projects benefit communities by reducing flood risk, improving recreational opportunities, and improving roads while supporting native fish populations and aquatic ecosystems. NFPP project examples include dam removals, culvert replacements, floodplain restoration, and the installation of fishways. It is estimated that for every $1 million invested by the program, $1.5 million in value is added to the economy. The program is delivered through U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) field offices nationwide. Local Service staff work with partners to identify and implement projects. Projects are based on sound science, advance the Service mission, and promote aquatic connectivity. Contact the regional NFPP Coordinator in your area for information about program priorities and application process. Learn more at Grants.gov.
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