MLTN Infoline – January 4, 2023
A Personal Message from Warren Whitney, Land Trust Program Director | |
Happy New Year! After 20 years of working at Maine Coast Heritage Trust (and a few years at Friends of Merrymeeting Bay, and a 15-year career in mapping before that), I’ll be retiring at the end of May. I’ll be catching up on some long-delayed projects, volunteering at several non-profits, and generally trying to keep home life a little calmer. It’s been a pleasure to work with all of you as we strive to advance land conservation in the state. A hundred years from now Mainers will be so thankful that people like you conserved Maine’s most important landscapes in this window in time, and I am pleased to have played a small part in that work. I also feel so fortunate to work side by side with Donna and Jeff. They are incredibly talented, successful, and care deeply about conservation. We are all so lucky to have them on the team, and they will be carrying on this work when I depart later this spring. MCHT will post the Land Trust Program Director position in about a week, so if you know anyone who might be interested, tell them to check out the Jobs page at MLTN.org. The goal is to have someone on board by mid-May so there is overlap before I leave. I’m confident that MLTN will be in great hands in the future! With gratitude, Whit | |
A Victory for Private Land Conservation | |
Late last month, after years of intense efforts, the U.S. Congress passed the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act as part of a year-end “omnibus” spending bill. This legislation effectively shuts down a tax avoidance scheme that took advantage of the federal conservation easement tax incentive, which was made permanent by Congress in 2015 and has helped thousands of Americans to voluntarily conserve millions of acres of their own land. Congress exercised its power to stop these bad actors by enacting sensible, narrowly targeted legislation that will protect the federal conservation easement tax incentive, preserve the integrity of our tax laws and protect those who work tirelessly and ethically to conserve our working and natural lands. You can read more about this important legislative victory by visiting the Alliance’s blog. In the meantime, let’s all celebrate this tremendous achievement. | |
Powerhouse Boards | |
A 3-part webinar series Wednesdays, January 11, 18, and 25, 2023 1:00-3:00pm Cost: $150 for MANP members*, $200 for non-members Use code TEAM25 to save 25% when registering two or more from the same organization This event is made possible by a partnership between Maine Association of Nonprofits and North Carolina Center for Nonprofits Powerhouse boards bring an energy to their work. They make good decisions on behalf of their mission. They are nimble, influential, effective, and connected. You may have seen such a board in your community – maybe you serve on one. If so, you know the joy that comes when a group of people comes together and really makes a difference. In this three-part series designed for board members and those who work with them – including executive directors and program staff – a nonprofit board expert will introduce you to what you need to know and do to have a powerhouse board, including tips and tools to implement these ideas within your board. All participants receive a 28-page workbook to use for reflection, connection, and next step planning. To view the course outline, learn about the workshop presenter, and register, visit MANP’s website. *Most MLTN members are MANP members. Contact Donna to check on your land trust’s MLTN membership status. | |
Advanced Risk Management: Managing Risk With Outside Lawyers | |
Thursday, January 12, 2023 3:00-4:00pm Cost: FREE Land trusts face myriad issues that require legal advice, whether drafting conservation easements, preparing board resolutions, reviewing contracts, or defending property boundaries and easement terms. So, having the support of competent counsel is critical to success. However, most land trusts do not employ in-house counsel and therefore must turn to outside attorneys. This webinar covers when land trusts should consider using outside legal counsel, what experience they should look for in a candidate, and how they should work with selected outside counsel, as well as what expectations attorneys often have for their land trust clients. Visit LTA’s website for more information and to register. | |
Due Diligence Done Right | |
Tuesday, January 17, 2023 2:00-3:30pm Cost: $70 for LTA members; $100 for non-members A conservation easement is a promise to protect land forever, and forever depends, in part, upon land trust personnel properly completing all the necessary steps in the transaction process. Fee transactions bring up related, but somewhat different concerns. This webinar provides a road map to help you navigate the complex legal, technical and practical matters involved in conservation easement and fee acquisition transactions. Conservation attorney Sara Clark will discuss the essential steps involved in due diligence (title review will be covered in a separate webinar). Signing the Form 8283 and sending the gift acknowledgment will also be discussed. Visit LTA’s website for more information and to register. | |
Managing the Transition from Acquisition to Stewardship | |
Tuesday, January 24, 2023 2:00-3:30pm Cost: $70 for LTA members; $100 for non-members We all know that conservation is not finished when the easement is signed and recorded. No, it is an ongoing partnership between landowner and land trust that works best when it is structured as a holistic process that begins at the first conversation and carries on through annual monitoring and landowner engagement. Join stewardship expert Jesica Blake, North Carolina Coastal Land Trust, as she discusses how to make the transition from project to stewardship as seamless as possible. Filled with stories and lessons learned, this webinar will leave plenty of time for participant questions and discussion. Here’s a look at what we will cover:
To register, visit LTA’s website. | |
Jobs in the Conservation Sector | |
With the new year comes new opportunities! New additions to our job board below, or click here for the full list. Membership Manager – Maine Island Trail Association Communications Contractor – Maine Environmental Education Association Development & Outreach Coordinator – Blue Hill Heritage Trust Stewardship Assistant – Friends of Acadia Lead Summit Steward – Friends of Acadia Summit Steward – Friends of Acadia Recreation Technician (2) – Friends of Acadia Grants Manager – Midcoast Conservancy Kennebec Land Trust Summer Internship – Kennebec Land Trust James W. Dow Program Summer Intern – Blue Hill Heritage Trust | |
Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative Small Grants | |
Applications Due March 1, 2023 The Cornell Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative provides funding annually to facilitate high priority, bird-focused conservation projects for lands trusts. In 2023, the small grants program will award land trusts around $230,000 to as many as 14 projects, including six $5,000 capacity and partnership grants and eight $25,000 management and restoration grants. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Cornell Lab) believes land trusts can help birds, and birds can benefit land trusts. To develop mutually beneficial collaborations between land trusts and the bird conservation community, the Cornell Lab’s Conservation Science program launched the Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative in 2013. This initiative provides bird-related resources, tools, partnership, and funding opportunities to advance the pace and impact of land trusts’ protection and stewardship efforts through birds. The aim is to build the capacity of land trusts to meet their own goals and to achieve strategic bird conservation on private lands. They support land trusts in prioritizing lands for bird conservation, developing and implementing bird monitoring projects, managing habitats, developing successful funding proposals, and increasing their community support. Read the full RFP, read the evaluation criteria, and find out how to apply at Cornell Lab’s website. | |
LMF Call for Projects of Statewide Significance and Community Conservation Projects | |
Round A Inquiry Forms are due by 5:00 PM, January 13, 2023 Final Round A Proposals are due by 5:00 PM, March 24, 2023 The Land for Maine’s Future program will be accepting inquiry forms for Projects of Statewide Significance and Community Conservation until 5pm Friday, January 13th. A second round for Working Forest Projects will take place later this spring. Interested applicants are invited to join an information session, to connect with staff, hear about recent changes to the application process, and updates to the scoring criteria, and to ask question. Meetings will be held at 12:00 via Teams on:
Links to the meetings can be found on the LMF website. Eligible applicants include non-profit land conservation organizations, cities, towns and state agencies. A copy of the LMF Workbook, which includes all information necessary to apply for LMF funds can be obtained by visiting the Applying for Funds page. Read Full Press Release. |