Conservation easements provide obvious benefits to the landowner and surrounding wildlife, but how do they benefit the greater community? A panel of Upper Saco Valley Land Trust members will provide an overview of conservation easements, how landowners can better manage property for wildlife, as well as introduce the organization’s new natural resources inventory. Tin Mountain’s monthly EcoForum series will explore the Community Benefits of Land Conservation on Thursday, April 12, noon-1pm.
The Upper Saco Valley Land Trust (USVLT) is a non-profit organization with an eleven-town project area stretching from Hart’s Location to Denmark, Maine. For the April EcoForum, USVLT will present a primer on how land conservation is key to the ecological health of our region. Executive Director William Abbott, President Tom Earle, and board member Doug Burnell will explore the roles the land trust movement and conservation easements play in helping individual landowners and communities preserve vital natural resources. To date, USVLT has protected over 5,200 acres, including 35 conservation easements. Land trusts nationwide have conserved 37 million acres, an area roughly the size of New England.
The Eco-Forum lunchtime lecture series is sponsored by The Flatbread Company of North Conway, Rock House Mountain Baker, and Frontside Grind. It is presented at noon on the second Thursday of each month at the Tin Mountain Nature Learning Center in Albany. The public is urged to attend to learn more about salient issues facing our natural environment and to hear the views of thought-provoking speakers.