MLTN Infoline – October 16, 2024
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All Regional Meetings Details Are Set
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Last week we held our first regional land trust meeting of the season in Machias, and tomorrow we’ll be meeting with Penobscot Bay groups in Belfast at the Belfast Free Library from 10:00 to noon. It’s always a joy to spend this time with land trusts and their partners, learning what’s on your mind and how we can work together and help each other out.
All regional meetings have now been scheduled and locations and times finalized. In addition to the Pen Bay meeting, you can join us in:
Remember, these meetings are open to all. Bring a guest if you like! You can attend any of the meetings regardless of where you live, work, or take part in land trust activities. Much of the discussion will be similar at all the meetings but we also reserve time for region-specific topics, including topics you suggest.
We hope to connect with you in person this fall!
Angela, Jeff, Donna, and Katia |
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Trails Bond Ad Campaign
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On November 5th, Maine voters will decide whether to approve a $30 million bond measure to improve, repair, and expand Maine’s trail network. We hope you will share information with your members and friends about the value of this measure. Learn more here. The Partnership for Maine Trails is working hard to build support, and they’ve developed Yes on 4 video ads, which they’ve posted on their website and FB page. Please share and spread these ads through your own FB pages and other channels. Let’s all get involved and ensure success on Election Day!
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Land for Maine’s Future Update
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The Land for Maine’s Future Board approved eleven projects at its most recent meeting in September, highlighted by three farmland proposals and three working waterfronts. This is their latest announcement as the program strategically invests the $40 million approved by policymakers in 2021. To date, the board has spent or committed most of the $40 million on dozens of projects around Maine. However, the program still has nearly $2 million available for recreational water access projects – these proposals can be submitted anytime. There is also likely to be enough money in 2025 to fund $2.5 to $3 million in new conservation and recreation projects. We should have more information after the LMF Board meets in November, in terms of deadlines and process. In the meantime, MCHT has begun working with partners on a legislative strategy to replenish LMF for future years. For more information on LMF, please contact Jeff Romano.
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Partner with Maine Conservation Corps
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The Maine Conservation Corps (MCC) is currently accepting Project Proposals for Field Team partnerships in 2025 and 2026. The deadline for Field Team Project Proposals is November 1, 2024.
MCC is an AmeriCorps program with a mission to accomplish conservation initiatives that inspire people and enhance communities. MCC Field Teams accomplish a wide range of projects at a reasonable cost. Partner with MCC to support the next generation of conservation enthusiasts and professionals.
Potential projects include, but are not limited to:
Field Team partnership options:
Partners provide general project oversight and goals, an orientation to the community, local educational and networking opportunities, a fee for service, specialty equipment as needed, and mentorship for young people interested in conservation.
To apply, please review the Project Proposal Instructions on the MCC website (scroll down) and submit a completed Project Proposal Form by November 1, 2024.
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Using the Findings from DIY Trail User and Visitor Research
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Friday, October 25, 2024 via Zoom 10:00-11:00am
Cost: FREE
Join Michele Archie, Harbinger Consultancy principal, on Zoom for a continued exploration of the new Conducting and Using Visitor and Recreational User Research Do-It-Yourself Guide and Toolkit developed with support from MCHT and other partners. The focus of this webinar is using your research findings.
After this 60-minute webinar, you will:
This webinar will build on ideas discussed in the October 11 workshop but participation in both is not required.
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Working Together for Appraisal Success
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Thursday, October 31, 2024 via Zoom 10:00-11:15am
Cost: FREE
An important step in most conservation transactions is obtaining a timely appraisal from a qualified conservation appraiser. Here in Maine (and around the country) the pool of qualified conservation appraisers has appeared to be shrinking, but finding an appraiser is only one of the challenges land trusts may face when working to meet appraisal requirements, especially when the transaction includes grant funding that comes with additional stipulations.
In this webinar, we’ll discuss the ongoing partnership effort between Maine Coast Heritage Trust and the Land Trust Alliance to address these challenges. We’ll introduce our new Checklist for Maine Land Trust Staff Working with Real Estate Appraisers, and hear first-hand from a Maine appraiser about how we can work together to achieve appraisal success.
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Condemnation & Extinguishment: What Land Trusts Need to Know
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Wednesday, November 6, 2024 via Zoom
1:00-2:30pm
Cost: $75 for LTA members, $115 for non-members
As a land trust executive director, staff attorney or stewardship staff member, you’ve probably heard of or experienced condemnation of land and extinguishment of conservation easements in whole or in part for public purposes such as utility lines, roads or schools. You may still be wondering what happens during the condemnation and extinguishment process, and what can your land trust do if you think such an action is possible on one of your properties. Add in valuation disagreements and state specific laws, and it’s a complex situation. This webinar will guide you and your organization through the ins and outs, with special attention on proactive steps your land trust can take.
Learn more and register on LTA’s website.
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Increasing Trail Access
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Thursday, November 7, 2024 9:00am-4:00pm
Capital Area Technology Center
Leaders: Kara Wooldrik and Enock Glidden of Community Geographics
Cost: $50, contact Kara if price is a barrier
What does it look like to create trails and outdoor spaces that are more inviting, inclusive, and supportive of people living with different disabilities? How can we rethink outdoor spaces and how we communicate about them to welcome people who have historically been marginalized in conservation and the outdoors?
Combining a series of presentations, hands-on adaptive equipment use, and in-field trail assessments, this workshop shares the experiences, needs, and challenges of individuals living with disabilities, and provides concrete suggestions for how to identify, eliminate, and minimize infrastructure and informational barriers that prevent wider access to, and use of, trails and lands. The focus will be on making immediate, attainable shifts to trails, infrastructure, and communications that begin to welcome and accommodate a greater number of people looking to be active outdoors.
To learn more and register, click here.
Check out Enock’s Adventures, to see if one of your local trails is included in his trip reports of 50+ trails in Maine.
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Beavers-Natural Allies in Water Quality & Restoring Wetlands
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Four webinars on November 12, 14, 19, and 21, 2024 via Zoom 11:00am-12:15pm
Cost: $50
Encouraging beavers in watersheds can lead to numerous conservation benefits including improving water quality, creating wetland habitats for other species and increasing floodwater storage capacity to help mitigate the effects of climate change. Beavers are natural engineers, and their activities can contribute significantly to ecosystem health.
Over these four 75-minute online sessions, national experts will cover various methods and considerations for incorporating beavers into land trusts’ restoration activities and share real world land trust examples to bring these concepts to life.
This training will cover the basics of beaver ecology and ecosystem services they provide. It will also provide insight into managing beaver-human conflicts, and, since one solution does not fit all, participants will also learn about beaver mimicry – human-made structures created to copy the function of natural beaver dams and promote similar positive effects.
A beaver decision tree (pun intended) will help you make management decisions on when and where it is (or is not) appropriate to place beavers, complete beaver restoration or install beaver dam analogs.
Learn more and register on LTA’s website.
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QuickBooks Made Easy: Fundamentals for Desktop Users
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Tues, Wed, and Thurs, November 12, 13 & 14, 2024 via Zoom
2:00-4:30pm
Cost: Can sign up for single day or full 3-day course Single Day-$109 for MANP members*, $149 for non-members
Full Course-$229 for MANP members, $299 for non-members
This training is a 3-day webinar series (2.5 hours per day) teaching seven and a half hours of vital QuickBooks information specifically for nonprofit organizations. This training focuses on the Desktop version of QuickBooks.
Please visit MANP’s website for a breakdown of what will be covered each day.
This event is possible thanks to a partnership between Maine Association of Nonprofits and QuickBooks Made Easy. Visit MANP’s website to register.
Most MLTN members are MANP members. Contact Donna to check your organizations MLTN membership status.
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Supporting Farming & Food Access in BIPOC Communities
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Thursday, November 14, 2024 via Zoom 1:00-2:30pm
Cost: $75 for LTA members, $115 for non-members
Land trusts have been conserving agricultural land for decades, but is that all that’s needed to ensure equitable farmland and food access for all? Not quite. Join Jazmin Leath (Carolina Farm Stewardship Association) and Nayla Jimenez Cabezas (Washington Farmland Trust) to learn about two successful organizations that go beyond traditional agricultural conservation to support the success of farmers who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), thereby increasing food access for their communities. Justin Merrifield (Land Trust Alliance) will also share connections for NRCS funding opportunities for your organization to begin or enhance your work in this area. Visit LTA’s website for more about what will be covered, and to register.
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Jobs in the Conservation Sector
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Change is in the air! Is there a change in your future? Check out the latest job postings below and see the full list on our website. Education and Partnership Director – Momentum Conservation
Environmental Steward Host Sites for 2025 – Maine Conservation Corps
Community Tree Steward Host Sites for 2025 – Maine Conservation Corps
Land Steward – Frenchman Bay Conservancy
Director of Communications and Community Engagement – Frenchman Bay Conservancy
Community Science Manager – Maine Audubon
Executive Director – Bangor Land Trust
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Davis Family Foundation
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Winter Deadline: 5:00pm, November 1
The Davis Family Foundation is a public charitable foundation established by Phyllis C. Davis and H. Halsey Davis of Falmouth, Maine, to support educational, medical and cultural/arts organizations located primarily in Maine. The Foundation was established following Mr. Davis’ retirement as President and Chairman of Shaw’s Supermarkets, Inc. Their overriding goal for the Foundation was simple and straightforward: “to make grants where they will do the most good and where our gifts make a real difference.” The Foundation has provided more than $63.5 million in grants since its grantmaking activities began in 1986.
Application deadlines are 5pm EST February 1, May 1, August 1, November 1.
Learn more at https://www.davisfoundations.org/dff/apply.
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Fisher Charitable Foundation
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Winter Deadline: November 15 The Fisher Charitable Foundation is a private operating foundation established by Dean L. Fisher, late of Rockport, Maine, which became active in 1997. The Mission Statement of the Foundation states that the Fisher Charitable Foundation provides grants to tax-exempt charitable, §501(c)(3) organizations, primarily in Maine.
The Foundation welcomes proposals that offer creative solutions to community problems or take advantage of opportunities that will have a favorable impact on the quality of life for a number of people.
Learn more at https://fishercharitablefoundation.org/about/.
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