Land Trust board members attend conference

#Middlebury

This photo by Libby Lord, “Cedar Waxwing Enjoying Berries for Lunch,” is the first-prize winner in the Wildlife Category of The Diana Atwood Johnson OSWA Photo Contest sponsored by the Connecticut Land Conservation Council and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. (Photo courtesy the Connecticut Land Conservation Council)

By JANINE SULLIVAN-WILEY

Seven Middlebury Land Trust (MLT) board members were among an estimated 500 individuals attending the recently held 34th annual conference of the Connecticut Land Conservation Council (CLCC). CLCC Executive Director Amy Blaymore Paterson said having so many attendees from one board was an excellent turnout.

The daylong conference included workshops covering 50 topics across seven topic tracks; the MLT members attended 14 of them. Paterson said these conferences are a way to provide people who care about conservation an opportunity “to get together to share their love, enthusiasm, passion and energy for land conservation.” Attendees ranged from land trust and councils of government representatives to those from historic property and preservation groups, federal and state agencies, legislators and more.

One workshop offered at the conference may interest our readers. It was about a free smartphone app, “About My Woods.” The app provides information about the woods and soils, invasive plants and insects, and common birds, trees and plants you might find on your own or land trust property.

The keynote speaker, David Vallee, is the hydrologist-in-charge of the NOAA/National Weather Service’s Northeast River Forecast Center. He spoke about flood mitigation and prevention. That’s the kind of information that can help the MLT better plan and manage our water resources here in Middlebury.

Bill Crutcher, an MLT board member for more than 16 years, decided to attend the conference for the first time this year because the MLT is now preparing for accreditation. He spoke about a workshop on the use of drones that he attended. A former pilot of private planes, he learned how drones are used for monitoring properties and even helping to find people lost in rough terrain. He also attended a workshop on the finer differences between open space and agricultural conservation easements, and the relevance of soil types in making determinations about them.

MLT attorney Curt Titus attended, as might be expected, several workshops in the specialty area of land trust law. Easements and land trusts have unique legal aspects not encountered in regular law. They offer great protection to conserved properties.

Peter North, a nine-year member who has attended these conferences many times, said he values learning what other land trusts are doing, how they deal with legal issues, properties they are trying to acquire, maintenance issues, and legislation that affects land trusts.

This writer learned a lot about building trails – and discovered it involves much more than she had expected. Done right, trail building requires analyzing the land gradients, managing slopes, providing access to special features without compromising soil conservation, managing water crossings and accommodating diverse users.

In the workshop on pollinators, she became enamored of the idea of “pollinator pathways” through our suburban properties. Wikipedia says “The Pollinator Pathway is a participatory art, design and ecology social sculpture initiative founded by the artist and designer Sarah Bergmann. Its objective is to connect existing isolated green spaces and create a more hospitable urban environment for pollinators like bees with a system of ecological corridors of flowering plants by using existing urban infrastructure such as curb space and rooftops.” Another member who attended the pollinators workshop commented on the special qualities of our many types of native bees.

The Land Trust board ended the day more enlightened and enthusiastic about Middlebury’s land and its value to everyone. Find more at www.middleburylandtrust.org.