Publications and Documents
The documents are samples actually in use by land trusts around the state and country, and have been tailored to their own specific needs.
These documents are not intended as legal, accounting, or other professional advice, and Maine Coast Heritage Trust cannot attest to the legal, financial, or tax consequences of their use. As each land trust’s organizational and project goals are unique, Maine Coast Heritage Trust recommends that all land trusts engage experienced professionals to assist them in evaluating and understanding how to use the information provided here.
MCHT/MLTN Publications
The files below require either the free Adobe Reader or Microsoft Word.
- 2024 Land Trust Census Report (PDF)
- 2024 Land Trust Census Presentation Slides (PDF)
- Land Trusts Work for Maine (PDF)
- Conducting and Using Visitor and Recreational User Research: A Do-It-Yourself Guide & Toolkit (PDF)
- Conservation Options: A Guide for Maine Landowners (PDF)
- Final Report from the Land Conservation Task Force 2019 (PDF)
- Property Taxation of Conserved Lands (PDF)
- Land Trust Property Tax Exemption (PDF)
- Qualification of Easement Donation for IRS Tax Deduction (PDF)
- 2019 Maine Land Trust Census (PDF)
Community Centered Conservation
- Resources for Exploring Issues of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion 10-05-21 (PDF)
- Healing & Repairing: Re-imagining Conservation From Where Our Lives Intersect, by Peter Forbes (PDF)
- Open to All: A Disability Inclusion Guide for Land Trusts
- Equitable Recruitment and Hiring Process 10-07-2021 (PDF)
- Diversity Job Posting Websites courtesy TNC (Excel)
- Maine DOE Wabanaki Studies main site
- Partnerships for Indigenous Land Access and Return: A Summary of Legal and Relational Pathways (LTA account required)
- A Guide to Indigenous Land Acknowledgments from the Native Governance Center
Sample Documents
Some of the files below require the free Adobe Reader.
Board Policies
- MCHT Gift Acceptance Policy 2024 (PDF)
- MCHT Record Retention Policy 2020 (PDF)
- Records Policy Sample 1 (PDF)
- Records Policy Sample 2 (PDF)
- Recordkeeping Essentials for Land Trusts Standards and Practices Curriculum presentation slides-Rob Levin (PDF)
- Royal River Conservation Trust Organizational Documents including Governance, Board Policies, & Bylaws (external link)
Fundraising
- Capacity Fund Policy (PDF)
- Sample 1-Year Project Proposal Budget (Excel)
- Sample 2-Year Project Proposal Budget (Excel)
- Sample Capacity Building Proposal Budget (Excel)
- Sample Final Financial Report (Excel)
- Sample Land Acquisition Proposal Budget (Excel)
- Sample Organizational Operating Budget (Excel)
Financial Management
Kennebec Estuary Land Trust (KELT) developed separate procedures for federal funds because those procedures are based on federal guidance – their Board has no control over the requirements of federal guidance, and having its review occur at the committee level makes it easier to update the document when minor changes to federal guidance occur. The federal Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) uniform guidance documentation is extremely dense; it was important to have the federal requirements written in a procedure and not just have their policy include directions to reference the CFR. It allowed KELT to consolidate the key points of CFR requirements relevant to their organization in one place, with easy reference to the section of the CFR that provides further detail.
- Kennebec Estuary Land Trust Procurement Policy (PDF)
Defines our organization’s procurement methods and guidelines. - Kennebec Estuary Land Trust Conflict of Interest Policy (PDF)
Contains important language about avoiding conflicts during purchase decision-making which is important for complying with federal procurement guidance. Other organizations that do not have a separate policy may choose to incorporate conflict of interest guidelines directly into their procurement policy. - Kennebec Estuary Land Trust Federal Procurement Procedure for Grants Received before 10-1-2024 (PDF)
Outlines procedures specific to federal grants, including federal language that applies to grants received before 10/1/2024. When these grants are closed out, this procedure will be retired. - Kennebec Estuary Land Trust Federal Procurement Procedure for Grants Received after 10-1-2024 (PDF)
Outlines procedures specific to federal grants, including federal language that applies to grants received after 10/1/2024. The federal government made a significant overhaul of the language that will apply to grants received after 10/1/2024. - Kennebec Estuary Land Trust Vendor Decision Form (PDF)
Used to document procurement decisions and the procurement decision process.
Land Protection
- Master Project Checklist
- Project Summary for Board, Conservation Easement Donation (Word)
- Project Summary for Board, Conservation Easement Purchase (Word)
- Project Summary for Board, Fee Donation (Word)
- Project Summary for Board, Fee Purchase (Word)
- Purchase Option Agreement, Conservation Easement 2014-09-24 (Word)
- Purchase Option Agreement, Fee 2014-09-24 (Word)
- Purchase and Sale Document, for Fee 2014-09-25 (Word)
- MCHT Guiding Principles and LP Criteria (Word)
- Annotated Conservation Plan (Word)
- MCHT Conservation Easement Template 2025-07-21 (Word)
- Hazardous Waste Disclaimer 2024-11-5 (Word)
- Closing Statement Example (Excel)
- Thank You Letter with IRS Language (Word)
- 8283 Attachment Template Updated 2023 (Word)
- MLCAN Model Boilerplate CE 2024-2-7 (Word)
- A Checklist for Maine Land Trust Staff Working with Real Estate Appraisers (PDF)
- Baseline Data Documentation Template 2019-5-14 (Word)
Stewardship
- MCHT Stewardship Policies and Practices – Table of Contents (PDF)
- MCHT Stewardship Policies and Practices – Full document (PDF)
- MCHT Conservation Easement Violations Policy (PDF)
- MCHT Discretionary Approvals & Notifications Policy (PDF)
- MCHT Conservation Easement Amendment Policy (PDF)
- MCHT Structures Policy (PDF)
- MCHT Utility Pole Easement and Boundary Agreement Policy (PDF)
- MCHT Policy on Historic Sites and Artifacts on MCHT Land (PDF)
- Appendix a Stewardship Budget Template – Preserve (Word)
- Appendix b Stewardship Budget Template – Conservation Easement (Word)
- Appendix c MCHT CE Monitoring Procedures (Word)
- Appendix d MCHT CE Monitoring Report (Word)
- Appendix e First Year Management Plan Template (Word)
- Appendix f MCHT Management Plan Outline (Word)
- Appendix j ADA Trail Assessment (Word)
- IRS Safe Harbor Sample Conservation Easement Amendment (Word)
- IRS Safe Harbor Conservation Easement Donor Letter (Word)
Mergers, Collaborations, Coalitions
- Maine Land Trust Mergers, Stories and Insights 2025 (PDF)
- Memo on Merger (PDF)
- Due Diligence Report (PDF)
- Merger-Consolidation Checklist (PDF)
- Closing Checklist(PDF)
- Joint Statement to Members (PDF)
- Merger Announcement (PDF)
- Considerations for Collaboration (PDF)
- Unification Plan (PDF)
- MOU to Collaborate (PDF)
- Memo of Understanding (PDF)
- Mergers & Other Partnership Structures for Environmental Nonprofits (PDF)
Articles of Interest
- Amici Brief for Superior Court by Karin Marchetti Ponte and Robert H. Levin (PDF)
- Property Tax Procedural Choices by Robert H. Levin 2024-7-26 (PDF)
- Access Issues for Land Trusts by Sarah A. McDaniel, Maine Land Law LLC, PA (Word)
- Conservation Easement Reform: As Maine Goes Should The Nation Follow? by Jeff Pidot (PDF)
- In Support of Property Tax Exemption for Land Trust Preserves by Karin Marchetti Ponte (PDF)