MLTN Infoline – January 7, 2021

In late December, the Maine Legislature released bill titles submitted by legislators and State Agencies. This is the first step in the annual bill drafting process and is a good early indication of the subjects that will be addressed by Maine legislators this session. In the months ahead, we will learn more details when actual bills are printed. Those interested in conservation policy should expect some familiar topics this year, such as Land for Maine’s Future funding, implementing the state’s Climate Action Plan, and property taxation of conserved lands. Read more here.

 

Stay tuned for future updates as bills are published, hearings are scheduled, and legislative deliberations begin. For more information or if you have any questions contact MCHT’s Public Policy Manager Jeff Romano.

Conference Dates: April 7 & 8, 2021

Each year the Maine Environmental Education Association (MEEA) hosts a conference to share strategies and ideas for more effectively implementing outdoor and environmental education in schools and communities across the state. Their 2021 Conference will be a virtual event focusing on how, at this time of great change we find ourselves in, our communities can work together to support environmental and/or outdoor learning in Maine. Land trusts have an important role to play.

 

MEEA seeks workshop presentations that share ideas, resources, and information you have learned from the work you are doing with schools and in your organization to advance environmental education and/or outdoor learning in Maine. Common workshop themes are: connecting to nature, climate education, justice, equity and inclusion, early childhood nature-based education, collaborative projects, place-based, interdisciplinary projects, community environmental science, environmental behavior change, technology in EE, and others. This year, MEEA would also love to highlight workshops that share stories, resources and solutions on how your organization/school has creatively adapted to Covid-19.

 

Learn more at MEEA’s website.

All proposals due March 1, 2021

Mark your calendars and save the date for Rally 2021, which will take place on October 7-9, 2021. Rally organizers are still considering whether the event will be fully virtual or a hybrid format, but either way, they need you!

 

Presenting a workshop at Rally is a great way to engage with the national land trust community. Most workshops are 90-minutes in length, but some longer seminars are presented. In 2021, Rally organizers are staying with themes of climate change and inclusion, and adding a third theme – water.

 

Click here to read the full call for proposals, get all the details, and submit your Rally 2021 proposal.

Researchers at the University of Maine are looking for forest landowners and managers to participate in a virtual focus group discussion on ways to enhance forest growth and carbon stocks. The two-hour focus group discussions will identify barriers and opportunities to implement specific forest management practices across Maine. Focus group participation is limited to 10 individuals. You must be at least 18 years of age or older to participate in the focus group. Click here for more information.

 

Five focus groups of forest landowners and managers are planned for early 2021:

If you are interested in participating, please RSVP by filling out this form. Questions? Contact Dr. Adam Daigneault at  or 207-478-5682.

Wednesday, January 13th, 2021

2:00-3:00pm

Price: $70

Brought to you by The Land Trust Alliance

What will the new year bring for hardworking development teams? Fundraising is a process, but what should that process look like during a global pandemic, economic downturn and post-pandemic? Join expert fundraiser Adriana Higgins, Bridge Philanthropic Consulting, as she discusses core fundraising strategies that will help your land trust be successful in 2021. 

 

Here’s a look at what will be covered:

 

Visit the Land Trust Alliance website to register.

Thursday, January 14th, 2021

3:00-4:00pm

Cost: FREE

Brought to you by The Land Trust Alliance

Advanced Risk Management – prerequisite of at least 1 risk management training

Terrafirma can help you when you sue to enforce a conservation right. But what about other legal challenges? Join attorney Sarah Sigman, of Shute Mihaley & Weinberger (CA) to explore how to handle legal risks that fall outside of your land trust’s core conservation mission and expertise. We’ll discuss examples and show how staff can identify legal risk in advance, minimize risk and expense when litigation happens and evaluate whether mediation is likely to offer a fruitful solution.

 

To help ease the impact of COVID-19 related changes this year, any land trust board or staff member who attends a risk management program (including the 2020 Risk Summit) may claim the Terrafirma risk management discount for 2021.

 

Register for the free webinar here.

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

2:00 – 3:30pm

Cost: $70 for LTA members; $100 for non-members

Have the words “private benefit” come up when preparing for a transaction, finalizing an amendment or approving a new use on an easement or fee property? If so, you know that those words can be some of the most scary in the English language. Join conservation attorneys Jonathan Blum, Polsinelli PC, Melinda Ching, TNC, and Kristalyn Loson, TNC, as they demystify the concepts of private benefit, private inurement, self-dealing, Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT) and commerciality. Appropriate for land trust board and staff, this webinar will introduce the legal topics and then work through hypotheticals covering scenarios commonly faced by land trusts. 

 

More information and registration on the Land Trust Alliance website.

Three 1-hour sessions on Tuesday, January 19, 26, and February 2

2:00-3:00pm

Price: $135 for Maine participants, contact Donna if interested

Visitor surveys can be a great tool for gathering information and generating insights that help you attract more visitors or encourage them to return, manage the visitors you already have, help local businesses generate more business from nearby trails, heritage sites and parks; plan and fine-tune programs; tweak your marketing; raise money and forge partnerships.

 

But no matter how low-budget, visitor surveys require investing resources that are precious to your organization like time, money, volunteer effort, relationships, and even your reputation. This course will help you make sure those investments pay off with a resource-efficient approach that yields reliable, high-impact information. In this course, you will:

 

Please contact Donna for the discount code so you get the lowest price!

Four 60-minute webinars, Thursdays, Feb. 4-25, 2021

3:00 – 4:00pm

MANP Member Price: $80*

Brought to you by Maine Association of Nonprofits

Leading a group of governance volunteers can be challenging as well as rewarding. This course is a great primer for new board chairs and an excellent refresher for more seasoned board members. Participants will learn about the chair’s responsibility in strengthening and improving the leadership work of the board as a whole.

 

Whether you’re a current chair, chair-elect, or head up a committee, this workshop will shed light on leadership skills every board member needs. Topics include: leadership characteristics of effective board leaders, key relationships in and out of the board room, your leadership legacy, facilitating meetings that matter, and ways to engage individual board members.

 

Click here for a full course description and registration information.

 

*Most MLTN member organizations are MANP members. Contact Donna to check on your MLTN status.

Deadline: Rolling, next application deadline is February 1, 2021

With major support from Toyota Motor North America, International Paper, and the Hilton Effect Foundation, the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) is making $128,000 in grant funding available to support public lands that have been impacted by increased use during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Through this funding opportunity, NEEF will sponsor sites in order to demonstrate the need for volunteer service to restore public lands that have been impacted by increased use during the COVID-19 pandemic; engage volunteers in restoration and conservation projects that address the impacts of the pandemic; and contribute to improvement of the sponsored public land sites through community engagement, as evidenced by volunteer participation numbers, types of projects, value of volunteer service, and conservation outputs.

 

Applicants can request up to $2,500 over six months and must clearly describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the public land site (e.g., wear and tear on trails due to increased public use, increased litter, postponed projects such as planting/invasive species removal, etc.) “Public lands” includes parks, nature areas, and other green spaces that are publicly accessible.

 

For more information, visit NEEF’s website.

Applications Due: February 1, 2021

The Clif Bar Family Foundation was established in 2006 to support grassroots groups with inspiring ideas and limited funds. To that end, the foundation invites applications for its Small Grants program. Through the program, the foundation awards grants to mission-driven organizations and/or projects that protect Earth’s beauty and bounty; help create robust, healthy food systems; increase opportunities for outdoor activity; reduce environmental health hazards; and build stronger communities. Grants are awarded for general organizational support as well as funding for specific projects. 

 

To be eligible, applicants must be based in the U.S. and be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or have a fiscal sponsor with such status.

 

See the Clif Bar Family Foundation website for complete program guidelines and application instructions.