After a day on the road with Al Karnatz I headed into the main office of Vermont Land Trust to meet with John Roe, Vice President for Land Conservation, and Dennis Shaffer, Vice President for Stewardship. 

Among other things, we talked about the history of Vermont Land Trust, working on a statewide basis, and some of the largest projects they have completed: Champion and Atlas.  There is a lot to learn from the experience of working on these large projects, with cooperation from a number of other organizations, and working with new corporate owners as a property changes hands

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

podcast

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

Allen Karnatz took me out to the Northwest corner of Vermont to see some dairy farms that have been protected by the land trust and meet with some farmers looking to protect their land.  On the drive back I had a chance pull out my trusty audio recorder and get an interview.  Since we were in a car the audio quality is worse than usual, but I think you will find the story compelling enough to listen in nonetheless. 

Al has been involved in hundreds of projects, many of which have been purchase of development rights.  Al talks about the importance of building relationships with landowners, and their families, considering conserving their land.  He also talks about why farmland conservation is important to him.

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

podcast

Note: A special note of thanks to Al for driving me arround the countryside all day long.

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