Dedicated Ongoing Funding for Land for Maine’s Future

When the Supplemental Budget becomes law in mid-July, by statute 25% of the investment income accrued on the state’s Budget Stabilization Fund will be transferred to the Land for Maine’s Future Trust Fund.

Late last Thursday, the Maine State Senate voted to enact this year’s Supplemental Budget, and the Governor signed it on Friday. When the budget becomes law in mid-July, by statute 25% of the investment income accrued on the state’s Budget Stabilization Fund will be transferred to the Land for Maine’s Future Trust Fund at the end of every month. We estimate that this will mean between $7 and $8 million transferred into LMF over the twelve months of the first fiscal year – July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027. (Over the past twenty years, LMF has averaged about $5 million/year.)

This is a great win for land trusts and for conservation in Maine, and it is thanks to years of collaboration and effort by Maine Land Trust Network members, along with Maine Coast Heritage Trust, The Nature Conservancy, Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, and the members of the LMF Coalition, and it couldn’t have succeeded without leadership from Senator Teresa Pierce and Governor Janet Mills.

For years, we have looked for ways to find dedicated funding to support LMF. Through this sustained team effort, we have accomplished it on the eve of the program’s 40th anniversary in 2027. We may need to fight in the future to keep it, but we have put together a strong coalition of defenders.

We will keep you up to date as additional details unfold but for now, join us in celebrating this historic win for land conservation in Maine!