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2016 Regional Land Trust Board Summit Series
September 14, 2016
Community Foundation of Northwest Connecticut
Torrington, CT
7:00-8:30pm
Co-hosted by:
Heritage Land Preservation Trust
Representatives from the following organizations were in attendance: Colebrook Land Conservation, Constance Ripley Land Trust, Cornwall Conservation Trust, Flanders Nature Center & Land Trust, Goshen Conservation Commission, Goshen Land Trust, Heritage Preservation Land Trust, Housatonic Valley Association, Kent Land Trust, Land for Good, Land Trust Alliance, New Hartford Land Trust, Northeastern Cave Conservancy, Sharon Land Trust, Salisbury Land Trust association, Torrington Heritage Land Preservation Trust, Warren Land Trust, Watertown Land Trust, Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust, Winchester Land Trust, Wintonbury Land Trust
Also in attendance: Kip Kolesinskas, farmland consultant and Cameron Weimer, CT Dept. of Agriculture.
1. Introductions and Topics of Discussion: After brief introductions, participants listed off the topics they hoped to discuss:
· Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant Program (OSWA)
· Farmland Preservation Options
· Acquisition Partnerships
· Community Involvement and Public Engagement
· Creating Linkages and the importance of mapping
· Economic benefits of open space to counter town concerns about loss of real estate taxes
· Volunteer Recruitment
· Insurance
· Policy
2. Discussion
OSWA
· Next grant round expected to be announced on or about 9/15/16. (Update: The grant round was announced on 9/16/16. CLCC announcement with links is HERE.)
· Information on the program is HERE.
· Bonding authorized for the program has not been released to the agency. Amy encouraged the land trusts to contact the Governor’s office and ask that he convene the State Bond Commission to allocate the funds to DEEP. (Note: View CLCC’s letter to the Governor HERE. View action alert HERE.)
· OSWA information sessions
o Greenprint “Road to OSWA” 9/23 at 2pm
o DEEP/CLCC Info Sessions 10/13, 10/20
· 2015-16 Grant Awards – expected to be announced after the election.
· Acquisitions – Regional Goals and Assistance
o Weantinoge: Goal of six acquisitions this year to break 10,000 acres
o Greenprint Landowner Incentive Fund provides match assistance for Greenprint member land trusts. More information is HERE.
Farmland Preservation Programs
· Farmland Preservation Program (Purchase of Development Rights [PDR]). More information is HERE.
· Resources to meet with land trust boards, conduct site visits and otherwise provide advice on all issues related to working lands:
o Kip Kolesinskas – consultant with Dept. of Agriculture (DoAg), UConn Extension, American Farmland Trust and retired Assistant State Soil Scientist for NRCSEmail:
o Cam Wiemer – DoAG Director of Farmland Preservation:
o Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust – working with DoAg on project facilitation and is available to help land trusts with applications and technical assistance. Catherine Rawson:
o Litchfield Hills Greenprint Collaborative – also available to help with project facilitation, grant applications and other technical assistance. Tim Abbott:
· Farm Viability Grants – Applications are now being accepted. More information is HERE
· Additional resource is Land for Good – Rachel Murray is available to give presentations to land trust boards on leasing land trust land to farmers (Note: Land for Good) Rachel Murray:
· Resources to help match farmers with landowners willing to lease their land: New England Farmland Finder and CT Farmlink.
· Monetary resources are available for restoration and acquisition of farmland. See: Conservation Options for Connecticut’s Farmland (AFT et. al.)
o State to Town match: 90:10
o State to Land Trust match: 50:50
· Lease templates are posted on CLCC’s website HERE.
· Land for Good Toolbox provides resources to learn about and take action on farmland access, tenure and transfer issues.
· UConn Extension – Resources available to help including tenant selection
· Easements/Infrastructure: DoAG will fund infrastructure; DEEP Open Space & Watershed Land Acquisition Grant Program (OSWA) will not.
· USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service – Agricultural Conservation Easement Program includes the Agricultural Easement Program. Funding is available for Connecticut.
· DoAg Community Farms Preservation Program – more information about this program and others may be found in DoAg’s municipal guide HERE.
o Locally important farmland soils designation by NRCS is a prerequisite. Connie Manes urged the land trusts to ask their respective towns to request that designation and has put together a packet of materials, including letter templates to help with the same. Contact Connie:
Partnerships and Community Engagement
· The group shared some of their community engagement efforts and agreed: They need to brag more about the wonderful work they are doing! Examples include: community gardens (Heritage Land Preservation Trust and Litchfield Land Trust), experiential education (Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust, Kent Land Trust, Flanders), art programs (Flanders), trail races (Norfolk, Flanders).
· Trail Races:
o Norfolk reported that their trail race has attracted new board members.
o Group discussed the need for insurance coverage for the event. By charging a fee to participate, the land trust may lose its immunity from liability under the Recreational Land Use Statute.
Insurance
· The group discussed insurance coverage. In addition to general liability, the group agreed that all land trusts should have directors’ and officers’ coverage. CLCC has information on insurance in its on-line Information Resource Library HERE.
Volunteer – Membership Recruitment
· The group agreed that volunteer and membership recruitment are consistent challenges for all land trusts. Group discussed programs and communications channels they use to attract new members and volunteers. New Hartford has found that working with the Girl Scouts is a good way to get to know parents. Flanders has a Nature Ambassador Program in which they train volunteers to set up programs. The group discussed the importance of providing opportunities for volunteer recognition and appreciation as part of their volunteer management programs.
· More ideas were discussed as part of our CLCC Summer Focus Group for Volunteer Coordinators, August 2015. The Focus Group Report and other meeting materials were distributed at the 2015 CT Land Conservation Conference and may be found on the CLCC website HERE, scroll down to C5.
Economic Benefits of Land Conservation
· The group discussed the importance of communicating the economic benefits of land conservation to their town officials and the public, especially when towns are so reliant upon property taxes for revenue. You can find links to many studies and reports on the topic on our website HERE.
Final reminders: CLCC’s Training & Education Calendar HERE and save the date for the 2017 CT Land Conservation Conference on March 17.
Final thank-you to our wonderful co-hosts, the Heritage Land Preservation Trust and the Community Foundation of Northwest Connecticut.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm
Respectfully submitted:
Amy Blaymore Paterson
Meeting Facilitator
Executive Director, CT Land Conservation Council
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