Land and Stewardship
Summer continues to fly by. Every week seems busier than the last. I got out hiking last week and stopped at The Mountain to see if I could find kids hiking with their parents. As I began my hike up the hill, I met the Colancecco family from Wenham, MA finishing up their hike. They told me they have been coming to Great Pond annually for the past seven years, renting a different camp each year. This year, they were renting L.L. Bean’s old camp at the end of Dry Point Road. Dad is a physician at the Leahy Clinic in Beverly and their kids, 9, 7, and 6 have been hiking French Mountain every year. This year, they decided they were ready for The Mountain and hiked the Long Pond Loop followed by the Outer Loop and had a great time. Next year they will be back and looking forward to hiking Mt. Phillip.
As a Land Trust Alliance Certified Land Trust, 7 Lakes Alliance has two primary committees that work closely together to coordinate our land conservation activities: the Land Trust Committee and the Stewardship Committee, which have several members in common to facilitate communication. The Lands team implements our Land Conservation Plan that was developed and has been regularly updated in accordance with the book Green Infrastructure: Linking Landscapes and Communities by Mark A. Benedict and Edward T. McMahon. The plan identifies a set of hubs (large, relatively undeveloped habitat blocks) and corridors (linkages between the hubs, including stream corridors, ridge lines, etc.)
The Lands team evaluates individual properties for water quality impacts, scenic value, recreational opportunities, biodiversity, wildlife habitat, climate resilience, risk of development, proximity to other conserved lands, and whether a conservation easement or fee purchase (or donation) is appropriate, inter alia. The Lands team coordinates the legal aspects of the acquisition, such as environmental site assessments, surveys, drafting conservation easements, appropriate Board approvals, etc. This includes evaluating potential conservation partners (e.g., State or Municipal, other Land Trusts) and funding sources (e.g., Land for Maine Future, Land Water Conservation Fund, Maine Natural Resources Conservation Program).
During the acquisition phase, the Stewardship Team helps complete baseline documents for the conservation easement or fee property and begins to develop the management plan that summarizes how the property will be managed to protect essential conservation values of the property and how any public access issues (hunting, potential trails, education and outreach, etc.) will be managed. This includes identifying estimated costs for carrying out long-term stewardship and working with the Development Committee to raise stewardship endowment funds.
Once the acquisition is complete, the Stewardship Team completes the management plan and identifies how the required annual monitoring visits and reporting will be accomplished. The Stewardship team includes a cadre of dedicated volunteers with diverse skills who take on drafting organizational policies and monitoring properties to meet IRS requirements. Each fee property has a primary monitor that visits the property approximately weekly and identifies short-term maintenance issues (e.g., toppled trees after storms, erosion issues after storms, etc.) that need attention. The team also has a cadre of volunteers who come out on volunteer workdays to move rocks, mark and maintain trails, control invasive species, etc.
The 7 Lakes Stewardship Committee puts in a lot of time keeping the local trails in safe, hiking condition and able to withstand wet weather without serious erosion. If you enjoy getting out on the trails, please consider signing up for one or more of our trail workdays. Contact Dan Woughter (495‑6039) for the latest schedule, which is usually posted on the sign in front of the Resource Center.
Take advantage of the rest of the summer and get out on the lakes or hike or bike in the hills. And take a kid along. Or a parent or grandparent. It’s a special feeling pointing out sections of the trail you helped build, especially on a property you helped buy! You will be creating memories that will last and inspiring future stewards of this special place.
7 Lakes Alliance is currently trying to close on two major land deals in the near-term: Robbins Mill Stream and Camp Bomazeen, both of which have significant water quality benefits and one of which will help support Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts in central Maine. We have pledges for almost $2M for these projects but are still actively seeking matching donations to bring these projects to fruition and protected for future generations. Please go to the 7LA website or call Laurie Raleigh (495‑6039) and tell her you want to contribute to the Land Conservation Fund.
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