MLTN Infoline – November 18, 2025

November 18, 2025|Infoline

Reminders: Conference Workshop Proposals & Intern Host Applications Due

As the days fly by and Thanksgiving approaches, we wanted to remind you of two important dates:

Conference Workshop Proposal Deadline has been extended to this Friday, November 21st – We are currently accepting proposals for workshops for our 2026 Maine Land Conservation Conference on April 28 & 29. Most slots are 90-minutes long. You can also offer to lead a topical cohort gathering on April 28. Visit our website for all the details and submission link. Contact Donna with questions.
Applications to host one of our Richard G Rockefeller interns next summer are due December 1st – Hosting a Richard G Rockefeller intern is a rewarding way to nurture the next generation of conservation professionals and get some capable help during the busy summer months! MCHT recruits, hires, and trains the interns and then sends them off to host organizations, who have submitted a plan outlining how the intern will spend their 10 weeks with the organization. Learn more on our website.

We also have lots of interesting webinars and learning opportunities to share with you below, many of them free, so read on for all the details.

Your friends at the Maine Land Trust Network,

Angela, Megan, Jeff, Katia, and Donna

Ecological Effects of Trail Construction

Researchers at UMaine School of Forest Resources are setting out to study ecological effects and visitor attitudes related to non-motorized recreational trail construction. They hope to better understand the effects of non-motorized trail development on wildlife habitat using birds as indicators. One outcome of their research is to produce tools to aid land managers in evaluating potential trade-offs between management priorities in their future trail development planning.

To conduct this research, these researchers are looking for land where a non-motorized recreational trail will be built between July 2026 and May 2027, and where land managers would be open to a pre-construction bird survey in June of 2026 and a post-construction bird survey in June of 2027. If you have any trail building projects that fit these criteria and would be interested in taking part in this research, they’d like to know! Please contact Evan Griffis, MS Student, School of Forest Resources, at the University of Maine at .

Momentum Relearning Cohort 2026

Application is open for the Relearning Cohort, Momentum’s new learning opportunity launching in January 2026. Apply now through Nov. 28!

The Relearning Cohort is a year-long experience designed to cultivate more abundant organizations by transitioning from learning about equity to implementing lasting organizational change. Created in response to a stated need from previous Momentum program participants seeking more tangible ways to put equity learnings into practice, the Relearning Cohort includes a mix of peer exchange, expert facilitation, and real-time experimentation.

Participants will develop actionable strategies for internal culture shift, authentic community and partner engagement, and sustained movement-building. Grounded in Momentum’s cumulative learnings across programs like the Relearning Place Program, Brave Spaces, their Land Trust Grant Fund program, and other collaborative learnings, this cohort offers the space and tools organizations need to explore where they are, where they’re headed, and what it takes to build toward justice within and beyond their institutions.

Momentum is requesting that potential applicants submit a letter of interest. You can learn how to apply and learn more about the Relearning Cohort by visiting their website.

Equity Guide for Nonprofit Technology

Wednesday, November 19th, 2025 via Zoom

3:00-4:00pm

Cost: FREE

Nonprofit technology is marked by inequities within our organizations and our sector. You can see this in staffing and processes, and the way technology tools are implemented. In this webinar, you’ll learn to use the free NTEN Equity Guide for Nonprofit Technology as an active and regular part of your strategy discussions and policy review processes and as a resource for evaluation.

This session will explore how to use the NTEN Equity Guide as a key part of your strategy and policy reviews. You’ll learn how to implement technology in racially equitable ways to better meet community needs. Get a head start on building a more equitable tech future for your organization.

This presentation is appropriate for an audience of varied IT experience.

Learn more and register at Community IT’s website.

Tools, Technologies, and Techniques for Successful Trail Building with Aggregates

Thursday, November 20, 2025 via Zoom

Thursday, January 22, 2026 via Zoom

Thursday, March 19, 2026 via Zoom

1:00-2:00pm

Cost: FREE to attend live and the recording is available free for 24 hours afterwards

This is a three-part series from American Trails. Attend all or pick and choose.

The first webinar happening this Thursday will lay the groundwork by explaining the basics of aggregates, the range of material options available, and why material selection matters. Trail uses include both pedestrian and vehicular pathways in rural and urban settings. Learn more about the webinar including the learning objectives and presenter(s) here.

The January webinar will focus on Choosing the Right Aggregate: Matching Material to Trail Use and Terrain. The March webinar will cover Installation Excellence for Aggregate: Tips, Tricks, and Common Pitfalls.

Learn about all these webinars from American Trails and others, at https://www.americantrails.org/training/webinars.

Tips from Terrafirma

Thursday, November 20, 2025 via Zoom

3:00-4:00pm

Cost: FREE

Bring your questions and suggestions about conservation challenges, the Terrafirma Risk Retention Group or anything else regarding lasting conservation for your preserves, trails and conservation easements. Leslie Ratley-Beach, conservation defense director at the Land Trust Alliance and vice president of Alliance Risk Management Services (manager of Terrafirma) will review trends from over 3,400 claims submitted over the past thirteen years of Terrafirma conservation defense liability insurance and respond to your comments. This is an opportunity for discussion about how to enhance our collective response to challenges.

Learn more and register at LTA’s website.

Benefits and Risks of Recreational and Educational Public Access on Fee Lands

Wednesday, December 3, 2025 via Zoom

2:00-3:30pm

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

Presenters include Loon Echo Land Trust’s Executive Director Matt Markot!

Recreation and education are the most important well-being needs that Land Trust Alliance members use to prioritize and complete an average of 3,500 projects each year. These projects, from large trail systems to small passive parks, provide widespread benefits to communities, land trusts and even to the land itself. Providing these benefits does not come without risks: legal, reputational, ecological and others. As a stewardship practitioner or land trust decision-maker, you need a basic understanding of the legal framework that applies to public access on fee-owned properties. You could also use inspiration, strategies and true stories from other land trusts that are successfully managing risks and enjoying the benefits that come with public access. This webinar will cover:

the basics of recreational immunity law, premises liability, property insurance and where to get specific information to guide your organization
benefits of recreational and educational public access and approaches that can preserve and strengthen these benefits
legal, reputational, ethical and ecological risks of recreational and educational public access and approaches that can minimize and manage those risks.

Learn more and register at LTA’s website.

Understanding Insurance and Avoiding Common Mistakes that Can Jeopardize Coverage

Thursday, December 4, 2025 via Zoom

3:00-4:00pm

Cost: FREE

This presentation will provide an overview of key insurance policies found in land trust insurance portfolios including general liability, cyber-risk, management liability, employment practices and property insurance coverage. It will also provide practical advice on navigating the insurance claims process, particularly how to avoid common mistakes that can jeopardize insurance coverage.

This event is part of the Land Trust Alliance and Terrafirma’s annual risk management webinar series. If your organization is a Terrafirma member and anyone on your staff or board attends this webinar, your organization will receive the Terrafirma risk management discount for the 2026 policy year.

Learn more and register at LTA’s website.

Land Trust Offices: What’s a Land Trust to Do?!

Tuesday, December 9, 2025 via Zoom

12:00-1:00pm

Cost: FREE but registration required

Join MLTN for a casual conversation with Maine land trust peers about office spaces. We’ve heard from several groups who are looking to move their offices or at least contemplating it. There are many considerations:

Should you rent or own?
What about building a dedicated space as part of a conservation project? Worth the headache and fundraising?
Should you choose a location with high visibility in town or make a home in a quieter setting that attracts young families and other people wanting to get outside?

We’ll talk about these questions and more. Bring your lunch and join the conversation. Register now.

Jobs in the Conservation Sector

Here are the newest job postings at mltn.org/jobs.

Stewardship Coordinator – Western Foothills Land Trust

Director of Education & Summer Camp – Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust
900-HR Environmental Steward (May Start) – Maine Conservation Corps

900-HR Environmental Steward (June Start) – Maine Conservation Corps

Resilient and Connected Appalachians Grant Program

Applications Due: February 13, 2026

Informational webinar on Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Through its Resilient and Connected Appalachians Grant Program, The Nature Conservancy provides grants of up to $100,000 for fee and easement acquisition projects throughout the Appalachians. Eligible states include Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama.

For the 2026 grant cycle, the program offers awards of up to $100,000 for projects within the eligible Appalachians landscape, which includes large portions of Maine. To see the your project location is eligible, click through to the Map Viewer. If your project is located in an orange-hatched “focal area” and it has at least some mapped resilient and connected (RCN) lands – it is eligible.

Please visit the program’s website to review project criteria and eligibility requirements, deadlines, and to share this information with your networks.

Abby King, Land Conservation Project Manager with The Nature Conservancy in Maine is the local contact for this program in Maine. You are welcome to call or email her any time to ask questions, talk about a project, or get help with your application.