Please join us at the offices of Northeast Utilities in Berlin, CT, on April 5, 2008 for the annual gathering of Connecticut’s land trusts and conservation organizations. Northeast Utilities’ generous support once again allows us to offer morning and afternoon workshops as well as a buffet lunch at a low cost to participants. Download the conference brochure for directions and more information.

Keynote Speaker: Russell Shay

We are honored to have Russell Shay as our keynote speaker this year. Russell Shay is the Director of Public Policy for the Land Trust Alliance. Russ has been with LTA since 1998. He has led policy initiatives that created a 60-fold increase in federal funding for the purchase of forest conservation easements, a 10-fold increase in federal funding for farmland conservation easements, and three tax code amendments increasing landowner incentives for conservation.

Russ will speak about what is new in land conservation from a national policy perspective, and give his outlook on events that are impacting the work of land trusts in Connecticut and across the country. He will discuss the expanding role being played by the Internal Revenue Service in the land conservation community as well as the latest from Congress and the future of the (recently-expired) expanded conservation easement tax incentives.

Conference Agenda

8:30 a.m. Registration/Lobby Displays
9:00 a.m. Welcome and Awards
9:30 a.m. Keynote Session: Russell Shay, Dir. of Public Policy, Land Trust Alliance
10:30 a.m. Coffee Break
10:45 a.m. Morning Sessions I
          A. Conservation Initiatives in Congress and the CT General Assembly
          B. Creating a Fundraising Plan
          C. Is Accreditation Right for Your Land Trust?
          D. Forest Stewardship for Land Trusts in Southern New England
          E. Habitat-based Management Planning
          F. Practical Crafting and Negotiating of Conservation Easements
12:00 Lunch
1:30 – 3:00 p.m. Afternoon Sessions II
          A. Increasing Your Community Influence
          B. The Search for Major Donors
          C. The Business of Running a Land Trust
          D. Establishing an Easement Monitoring Program
          E. Anatomy of a Transaction
          F. Initiating Successful Relationships with Landowners
3:15 – 4:30 p.m. Afternoon Sessions III
          A. Climate Change and Impacts on Land Trusts
          B. (To Be Determined)
          C. Regional Service Centers for Local Land Trusts 
          D. Determining Stewardship Costs for Land Trust Properties
          E. State and Local Wildlife Plans
          F. Preserving Land and Historic Resources

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Alden Warner (ironweed).