MLTN Infoline – April 15, 2025
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One Week Left to Register for the Conference
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We’re so excited that spring is around the corner, not just because the flowers are poking up and the red-winged blackbirds, phoebes, and other early arrivers have returned, but because the Maine Land Conservation Conference is almost here!
This year, the Conference will be at the Augusta Civic Center on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 29 & 30. Online registration will remain open until midnight on April 21st. At that time, we will assess whether we can accommodate walk-in registrants, so we highly recommend that you register before then if you know you want to attend. Also, there are still spaces in the pre-Conference Brave Spaces workshop this Friday in Brunswick. The cost is $25. Visit Momentum Conservation’s website for more information.
And a final note that the Best Western Plus has extended our discount room block until April 23rd. Booking Link here.
We’ll see you there!
Angela, Jeff, Donna, and Katia
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First Light Lunch at Conference
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Are you a First Light cohort participant past or present attending the Conference? We warmly invite you to drop in for a conversational lunch space on Tuesday at Maine Land Conservation Conference. You’ll have a chance to join World Café-structured conversations to dig into questions about participating in the work of return, and hear updates on this collective work, from land return to ongoing relearning. Whether you’re a longtime part of the First Light community, newer to the work, or even wondering what First Light is, we hope to see you there! No need to sign up, just grab your box lunch and bring it to the room as indicated on the Tuesday agenda. This opportunity is organized by Kara Wooldrik & Ellie Oldach.
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Maine Woods Forever Roundtable on Wabanaki Land Return Movement
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Thursday, April 24, 2025 11:30am, with featured panel discussion beginning at noon
Wells Conference Center, University of Maine, Orono
Cost: FREE
This is a hybrid presentation with options for attending in person or virtually.
Hosted by Maine Woods Forever, Dr. Darren Ranco and others will lead a discussion on Wabanaki land return and land justice efforts across what is today Maine. Land return isn’t just about returning land to Wabanaki People; it’s about ensuring connection or reconnecting Wabanaki people and culture to the land, and re-focusing our views of this landscape as a Wabanaki place. They’ll discuss why this work is important, how it has been done, and the stories of some of successful projects so far.
Register today. A few days before the roundtable, they will send out directions and details for those able to attend in person, as well as a reminder for those attending virtually.
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QuickBooks Made Easy
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3-day courses offered in late April and early May for both desktop and online users
Desktop Users course will take place on April 29, 30, and May 1 from 2:00-4:30pm. Online Users course will take place on May 13, 14, and 15 from 2:00-4:30pm.
Offered thanks to a partnership between QuickBooks Made Easy and Maine Association of Nonprofits, you can sign up for either of these courses through MANP. They also offer single day sign up options if you can’t commit to the full course. Learn more about what’s offered on each of the three days at the links above.
MANP Members* save $40 on single-day sign up or $70 when registering for all three days. Visit MANP’s website for more information.
*Most MLTN members are MANP members. Contact us to check your organization’s MLTN membership status.
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MNRCP: Updates for the 2025 Funding Round
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Wednesday, May 7, 2025 via Zoom
12:00-1:00pm
Cost: FREE
Join MLTN for an insightful lunch and learn session with Maine Natural Resource Conservation Program (MNRCP) coordinator Bryan Emerson from The Nature Conservancy. He will share a comprehensive update on the MNRCP and outline what to expect in the upcoming funding round. In 2025, MNRCP will only be accepting applications for projects that restore, enhance, and/or create aquatic resources (wetlands, streams, etc.), and no funding will be awarded for “preservation only” projects. Bryan will discuss these program changes and ways the program is seeking to facilitate more restoration and enhancement projects, as well as funds available by region, and the expected timeline for the proposal submission and review process. Plenty of time will be allotted for questions.
If you have questions you would like Bryan to answer during the webinar, please email Bryan ahead of time at .
To register, follow this link.
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Get Ready for Giving Tuesday Now
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Wednesday, May 28, 2025 via Zoom 12:00-1:00pm
Presenters: Ceci Danforth and Wendy Clark
Cost: FREE
One key to a successful Giving Tuesday campaign is starting early. Join us for this timely Maine Land Trust Network Lunch & Learn workshop, Giving Tuesday 101: Getting the most out of your campaign.
Are you getting all you can out of your Giving Tuesday fundraising campaign on social media? Presenters Ceci Danforth of Ceci Danforth Events and Wendy Clark of Wendy Clark Design will discuss content development, graphics, communications support, and provide plenty of tips and tricks for land trusts and organizations powered by small staffs who don’t know where to start, or for those who feel that their campaign is under-performing and not meeting their goals. They’ll be plenty of time for Q&A, too!
Pre-registration is required. Click here to register now.
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Interacting with Wabanaki-Maine History
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Tuesday, June 3, 2025 9:00am-1:00pm including optional lunch
Viles Arboretum, Augusta
Cost: $50 per person
Participation is limited to 40 people
Join Wabanaki REACH for an interactive experience in which you’ll engage in a story of particular events in the history of 400 years of colonization of Wabanaki people by Europeans in this territory now called the state of Maine. This highly engaging experience requires your full participation in order to genuinely increase your understanding of colonization and what it means for current descendants and future generations; to reflect on what story we are writing for our grandchildren.
Following the workshop, we invite you to a post-workshop lunch beginning at about noon. This is a valuable opportunity for participants to digest the information received and share their thoughts in a relaxed and inclusive setting.
MCHT is part of a collective effort in Maine aimed at developing a new conservation ethic that promotes Wabanaki access to lands and waters. One small step that MCHT is taking is to invite cultural access by Wabanaki people to MCHT preserves through this initiative created with the Wabanaki Commission on Land and Stewardship. To learn more about Wabakaki REACH educational programs, visit their website.
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Forests of Maine Teachers’ Tours
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Rangeley Lakes Region: July 8 – 11
Downeast Lakes Region: July 22 – 25
One of the Maine TREE’s most popular programs, Forests of Maine Teachers’ Tours, is over twenty-five years old. Each year, the four-day tours focus on the growth, harvest, and processing of wood products in Maine.
Educators earn up to 30 contact hours toward your continuing education requirement for your teacher certification. Classroom teachers, Girl and Boy Scout leaders, conservation organization staff, and other educators are among those who join the tour to learn about Maine’s forest resources from professionals working in the woods. Each year, the two tours feature two different regions of Maine. Each tour is unique, yet each highlights the most recent technological advancements within the forest product industries and current best practices in environmental education.
View the 2024 Maine Teachers’ Tour Story Map here. Learn more on the Maine TREE Foundation website.
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Jobs in the Conservation Sector
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Great new positions are posted to our jobs page daily. Check out the newest additions here and view the full list on our website. Youth Programs Coordinator – Friends of Baxter State Park
Fisheries Assessment and Science Communication Specialist – Downeast Salmon Federation
Visitor Services Associate, Fields Pond – Maine Audubon
Naturalist/Visitor Services Associate, Fields Pond – Maine Audubon
Senior Director of Land Protection – Maine Coast Heritage Trust
Environmental Technician – Maine DEP
Summer Hut Caretaker – Maine Huts & Trails
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MCHT Land Trust Collaboration & Merger Assistance Fund
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Applications accepted on a rolling basis
Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT) has established a fund to assist land trusts seeking stronger organizational health and effectiveness through advanced collaboration, structural realignment, or merger with other organizations. The maximum grant size is $25,000 for each category of grant (feasibility, implementation, and post-implementation operating support) per organization.
Organizations can collaborate to operate more effectively in many ways, up to and including merger. This grant helps organizations determine if a higher level of collaboration is in their best interest, including nuts and bolts costs for organizations pursuing a merger. These needs may include, but are not limited to: consultant/facilitator costs, legal fees, due diligence costs associated with the transfer of assets, stewardship costs, and more.
The MCHT Land Trust Collaboration & Merger Assistance Fund provides support for these and other needs. Because every situation is unique, interested groups are encouraged to contact Angela Twitchell (, 207-729-7366) before submitting a proposal. Learn more at mltn.org.
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