MLTN Infoline – June 3, 2025

June 3, 2025|Infoline

Maine Legislature Prepares to Adjourn

As we head into June, Maine’s legislature is scrambling to wrap up its work and bring as many bills as possible to conclusion. MCHT’s Public Policy Director Jeff Romano has been walking the halls, talking with policymakers, and working with partners to ensure that land trust interests are represented.

When the legislature adjourns, Jeff will provide a comprehensive recap of all the bills he’s been following and where they stand. This includes bills to secure funding for LMF, make changes to the conservation lands registry, define wildlife habitat mitigation for renewable energy projects, support tribal concerns, and protect property tax exemption for land trusts. Things will be moving fast the next two and half weeks, so stay tuned for updates and potential opportunities to support beneficial land conservation policy in Augusta!

MCHT also continues to monitor the impacts surrounding federal funding, staff reductions, and other uncertainties in Washington. Please let us know if you are experiencing funding termination or other direct impacts from changes at the federal level.

If you have questions about specific legislation or public policy in general, always feel free to contact Jeff.

Enjoy the sunshine!

Angela, Jeff, Donna, and Katia

OSI and Forest Carbon Data Partnership Release Updated Resources

Forest protection can help us meet critical climate targets. To do so, we must be able to accurately locate high-carbon forests and understand the risk of forest loss. Until recently, available forest carbon data was limited by out-of-date estimates of forest cover, was at a too large resolution to be useful for land protection, or was lacking future forest carbon estimates.

Open Space Institute and the Forest Carbon Data Partnership have launched updated forest carbon data and projections of carbon sequestration through 2070. You can now access the data, critical guidance, and additional tools, including recordings of presentations, on their website.

Learn why forests are our best carbon capture technology: View or print OSI’s 24″ x 36″ wall map illustrating and explaining forest carbon resources across the continental U.S.
Explore OSI’s National Forest Carbon Mapper: View forest carbon storage for 2020 and potential sequestration to 2050. Upload a parcel or polygon to view carbon values for your project or focus area.
Download data by state or region: Forest carbon storage and estimated sequestration are now available for download from the US Forest Service Research Data Archive.

You can also sign up to receive updates on OSI’s work on forests as a carbon solution by clicking here and selecting “Climate Catalyst Program.”

Seven Tips for Collaboration

Over the past several weeks, Institute for Conservation Leadership’s blog has featured Seven Tips for Collaboration, from the book Tools to Save Our Home Planet: a Changemaker’s Guidebook, published by Patagonia. Each blog post briefly introduces one of the seven tips, shares a quote to illustrate how it has benefited those working in collaboration, and then provides a list of specific actions you can take to implement the tip. You can read tips 1 through 5 on ICL’s website right now, check out their Collaboration Resource Hub, and sign up to receive their emails. Learn more about ICL today.

Strategies for Conflict Management and De-Escalation in the Field

Tuesday, June 24, 2025 via Zoom

2:00-4:00pm

Cost: $75 for LTA members, $140 for non-members

Are you prepared to handle difficult conversations and de-escalate conflicts in the field? Join this interactive conflict management and de-escalation training tailored specifically for land trust stewardship staff and volunteers. This session will equip you with essential strategies to navigate disputes with landowners, neighbors and the public while ensuring personal safety and effective resolution. Through real-world scenarios experienced by land trust practitioners, practical de-escalation techniques and actionable conflict management planning, you’ll gain the skills to tackle challenging situations with professionalism and increased confidence.

Visit LTA’s website to learn more and register.

Full Cost Accounting

Wednesday, June 25, 2025 via Zoom

12:00-2:00pm

Cost for your whole organization: $85 for MANP members*, $150 for non-members

This event is possible thanks to a partnership between Maine Association of Nonprofits and Montana Nonprofit Association

Join the Montana Nonprofit Association for a deep dive into full cost accounting and learn not just WHAT it is, but HOW to set your systems up for success. This is a tried and true approach, as summarized here in Nonprofit Quarterly.

This workshop will explore how to apply the principles of True Program Costing to your organization’s budget. Learn how to set up your accounting system to show a current representation of programming, revenues, expenses, and total all-in costs for each program, giving yourself a glimpse into true program sustainability. We will overview the process in detail, from start to finish, giving you all the tools you need to overhaul your financial systems.

After attending this session, participants will be able to identify key components of their accounting system that need to be adjusted to accommodate a full cost accounting method.

Visit MANP’s website for more information and link to register at partner website.

*Most MLTN members are MANP members. Contact us to check your organization’s MLTN membership status.

Oral History is Conservation History

Tuesday, July 8, 2025 via Zoom

2:00-3:30pm

Cost: FREE

Join the Land Trust Alliance in a learning journey towards historically and culturally informed land conservation. Speakers Jessa Rae Growing Thunder, Ph.D., director of tribal nations initiatives at Native Americans in Philanthropy, and Jocelyn Imani, Ph.D., national director of Black history and culture at Trust for Public Land, will guide land conservation staff, board members, volunteers and community partners through the intricate journey of researching local land history.

This webinar will ask attendees to rethink how history should be told, engaged with and how it can inform all our work. Discover the culture of history keeping in both Indigenous and African American/Black communities and how intertwined history is with land and the environment. Uncover practical strategies to unlock the rich tapestry of your community’s history, gaining invaluable insights into the complexities of the people who have had relationships with the land on which you work. Elevate your understanding as our speakers share expertise on evaluating sources with humility and curiosity, empowering you to engage in historical and culturally informed land conservation effectively.

Visit LTA’s website for more information and to register.

SprayFest 2025: Herbicide Training for Invasive Plant Control

Thursday, July 17, 2025

10:00am-3:00pm

Georgetown, Maine

Participant Limit: 30

Cost: FREE but registration required – email

Coffee and morning treats provided; BYO lunch + water

This session is back for year two and is intended for both licensed pesticide applicators as well as unlicensed staff and volunteers who are curious about herbicide use for invasive plant management. This year we will cover all the regulations, safety considerations, equipment, and herbicide choice and application methods, as well as identification and treatment of stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) – an emerging concern in Maine.

Brought to you by Dillon Mulhern, Preserves Manager, Kennebec Estuary Land Trust and Amanda Devine, Senior Director of Stewardship, Maine Coast Heritage Trust

Email to reserve your space!

Jobs in the Conservation Sector

We hear from so many people who found the conservation job they were searching for on the MLTN job board! Is one of these new additions your next dream job?

Landowner Outreach Intern – Renoster

Marketing Coordinator – Maine Audubon

Development and Communications Director – Harpswell Heritage Land Trust

Environmental Review Biologist – Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

Administrative Coordinator – Royal River Conservation Trust

Maine Natural Resource Conservation Program (MNRCP)

Letters of Intent must be submitted online and received by 5:00 pm Thursday, June 26, 2025

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is requesting Letters of Intent for the 2025 Maine Natural Resource Conservation Program (MNRCP) funding round. Over $6.6 million will be available for award in 2025. Public agencies, non-profit conservation organizations, tribes, soil and water conservation districts, and municipalities are all eligible to submit a Letter of Intent.

This year, MNRCP will only be accepting proposals for projects that include wetland restoration, enhancement, and/or creation. Proposals will not be accepted for projects that include only acquisition of property or conservation easements (i.e., “preservation only” projects). Restoration and enhancement projects more directly address federal and state wetland mitigation policies by replacing and enhancing the wetland functions and values impacted by development. For further explanation on what this means, you can watch the recording of the webinar Bryan Emerson led for MLTN last month.

MNRCP can provide funding for restoration site identification, project design, permitting, implementation, construction oversight, and long-term monitoring. Fees for consultants and contractors can also be covered by the program.

If you have questions about the program, or if you have a property that you would like to have evaluated for restoration/enhancement/creation potential, please contact Bryan Emerson at TNC Maine.