Monadnock Conservancy is the first group I have visited which has been accredited. In this piece you will learn about the conservancy as well as their experience with the accreditation process. You will also hear a bit about how they have reached out to the local communities to better understand what land is important to them for land protection. This goes far beyond impersonal GIS maps, and takes a look what really matters to individuals. You will hear more about this in a future podcast.

Listen in and then check out their website for more information.

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Note: With this podcast, I am trying something different and breaking it up into multiple parts, rather than one long podcast.  Please provide me with feedback so I know if this approach works better.

Notes: Intro and outgo music is from Tempest (de havilland vampire) by The Brothers Femme.

Often the decision to protect a proerty is based on a personal connection to that property. Here is the perspective of one of the founding members of the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust, and how his desire to protect the land he farmed as a child led to the creation of the land trust, along with help from Jay Espy, who many in the land trust community know.

Mr. Biette also provides his perspective on the land trust’s success in saving Crystal Spring Farm.

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A special note of thanks to Mr. Biette and his wife for hosting me while I was in Brunswick.

Notes: Intro and outgo music is from Tempest (de havilland vampire) by The Brothers Femme.

With a focus on protecting working farms and active agriculture  in Brunswick and Topsham Maine, BTLT has accomplished a lot, and with just one staff. Their key project is Crystal Spring Community Farm.  They own the farm and lease to a farmer.  It is also the site for their weekly farmers market.

Listen in and then check out their website for more information.

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Learn more about Community Supported Agriculture.

Notes: Intro and outgo music is from Tempest (de havilland vampire) by The Brothers Femme.

Working waterfronts are a key component of Maine’s culture.  While preserving a house, store and wharf with a restaurant may not seem to fall in the same category as preserving lake frontage or wetlands, I think it really is.  The tag line for the Land Trust Alliance is: “Together, conserving the places you love”  When you listen to Elsa talk about how important this project was to the community, and how deeply committed people were to seeing it through, you know that it is a place that people love and it needed to be protected.  People do not volunteer their time to scrub toilets for a place they don’t love.

Please note: This was recorded at Cundy’s Harbor over lunch.  The audio is distorted at periods where the wind picked up.  You will also hear hammers pounding and other activity in the background.  I have also edited the audio from over the course of our conversation to arrange it in a way which I hope will be easier for you to follow along (with loons to break up the various sections).

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Learn more about the Trust for Public Land.
Learn more about Holbrook Community Foundation and visit their blog.

Notes: Intro and outgo music is from Tempest (de havilland vampire) by The Brothers Femme.

Buy, Restrict, Resell.  But what happens when the old farmhouse on the property burns down just days before you close on the sale?  This is a great story of the unexpected challenges that a land trust can face.  And it happened to one of the oldest land trusts in Maine — Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association, which is celebrating their 40th anniversary this year.

How did it all work out?  What other stories do they have to share?  Listen in and find out, and then check out their website for more information.

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Learn more about the Land Trust Alliance’s ADVOCATES network.

Notes: Intro and outgo music is from Tempest (de havilland vampire) by The Brothers Femme.

What happens when a deal is dependent on selling a house on the property and the house burns down?

Well, you will just have to wait and see.  (My audio editor hit an error so I need to re-edit the file with my interview with Maureen Hoffman of Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association — but I can tell you it will be worth listening to)

They have only completed two projects, therefore they must be a small land trust, right?  Not when the two projects have protected tens of thousands of acres.  And their third project, which they are working on right now?  Over 20,000 acres.

How can a small land trust in a small town accomplish so much?  Listen in and find out, and then check out their website for more information.

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The workshop that Mark is presenting at Rally is session A19

A special note of thanks to Lindsay Wheaton, who is not only president of the Board of Directors for Downeast Lakes Land Trust, but also runs Grand Lake Lodge.  If you travel up to Grand Lake Stream, I strongly suggest you spend a night in one of their cabins.

Notes: Intro and outgo music is from Tempest (de havilland vampire) by The Brothers Femme.

After spending the weekend at Acadia National Park (a product of extraodinary conservation efforts in the eary 20th century), I traveled to Unity, Maine to visit with the Friends of Unity Wetlands.  This was the first land trust on my journey, and it served as a great starting point.

I attended Unity College before the Friends of Unity Wetlands was established.  It is wonderful to see that there is now a land trust there succesfully protecting the surrounding area.

Rick Lawrence, a founding board member, drove me arround to show me some of the properties the land trust has protected. We then returned to their office where I had a chance to talk with him.

Listen to our conversation and then check out thier website for more information.

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A special note of thanks to Unity College for allowing me to spend a night on campus — the new dorms are really nice.

Notes: Intro and outgo music is from Tempest (de havilland vampire) by The Brothers Femme.

As the countdown clock on the side of my blog indicates, there is less than one month until my peregrinations begin.   My itinerary needs to be updated, and there are a few more land trusts I still need to contact, but for the most part everything is falling into place.

Each of the land trusts I have contacted has been wonderfully enthusiastic about my plans to visit with them.   My coworkers have also been very helpful and supportive (but maybe they are just happy to get rid of me for two months).

Yesterday I recorded my first interview with Jessica Schley.   Jessica is an American Studies and Conservation and Resource Studies double major at UC Berkeley.   Her internship was with the Public Policy department here at the Alliance.   She has a powerful passion for land conservation that emanates from her connection to her family’s ranch in California.

After talking with her, she turned the tables and asked me a number of questions.

I plan to get the podcast up this weekend.

I get nervous when I share my sabbatical plans with others these days.

Why? Because often people will have a list of land trusts that I just have to visit. There are just so many great land trusts out there, and everyone wants to add their favorite(s) to my list.

I could spend my entire sabbatical visiting just one region (or in some cases just one state) and still not get to meet with all the great land trusts in the area. But of course I set an ambitious schedule for myself to get from Maine to Montana. That means there is a lot of driving that takes away from my time visiting land trust (and, regrettably, adds to my carbon footprint). It does allow me to visit some places that are important to me, and to meet with a large variety of land trusts along the way.

My plans are coming together, so please keep an eye on my itinerary.

So I apologize if I don’t make it to your land trust, or to your favorite land trust.