 What are land trusts?
Land trusts are non-profit
organizations that operate independently of government and work with communities and individuals to conserve natural areas.
They are experts at helping interested landowners find ways to protect their land in the face of ever-growing development pressure.
Maine's land trust community protects and stewards land, maintaining forests, working farms, wilderness, or other areas of conservation
value. Landowners can permanently protect the conservation value of their land in several ways such as selling
land to land trusts below market value (bargain sale), they can also donate outright or bequeath land to a land trust. Another option is
to donate a conservation easement - a legal agreement that permanently protects the land from harmful land uses while leaving it
in private ownership.
Maine's Soil and Water Conservation Districts and how they can help you.
Maine’s 16 Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) are subdivisions of state government that are run by locally elected and
appointed volunteers. SWCD's hold workshops, set up demonstrations, offer educational programs, review development plans, and set
priorities for one-on-one technical assistance, at the request of landowners.
SWCD's purpose is to solve local natural resource conservation problems (both urban and agricultural) as determined by local stakeholders.
Not only do districts work with their partners to identify natural resource problems at the local level and develop solutions, they also
assist in getting those measures applied to the land. This is accomplished by a unique partnership with the US Dept of Agriculture,
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Maine Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources (MDOAFRR).
Find a land trust in your area or connect with your local Conservation District
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