March 14, 2003

Welcome to the Watershed Conservation Update, an electronic newsletter supporting conservation efforts in Southern Maine and nearby New Hampshire. This newsletter is part of an expanding and evolving effort by the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve to support land trusts, conservation commissions, and watershed organizations. You are receiving this newsletter because you had subscribed to the Coastal Mosaic Project electronic newsletter, which is no longer issued. If you wish to unsubscribe, please visit the list page at our website: wellsreserve.org.

Conservation Planning

Community Open Space Planning workshop featuring Congressman Tom Allen and University of Southern Maine professor Dr. Robert Sanford on Saturday March 22 from 9-3 at Spring Hill Lodge in South Berwick sponsored by the Wells Reserve and Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission. This workshop is for town officials and residents interested in knowing how to initiate an innovative, proactive approach used by communities to balance growth with farmlands, working forests, wildlife habitat, and recreation lands. Speakers also include; Judy Bernstein, Kennebunk town planner; Roger Cole, Kittery Land Trust; Paul Schumacher, Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission, and Theo Holtwijk, Tom Farrell, and Steve Walker from Brunswick who recently completed and open space plan. Reservations required, $15 fee includes lunch call Dawn Morse at 646-1555 x 117.

Training and Support

NEMO (Non-point Education for Municipal Officials). Jodi Castallo can provide an excellent powerpoint presentation on non-point source pollution sources and solutions for a wide range of audiences from municipal officials, developers, to land owners, and the interested public. These presentations include information on basic principles of non-point source pollution and increase flows due to storm water, relationships between land use, natural resource protection, and water quality, planning and site design options to reduce the impacts from development. The information is very useful if your town is going through a comprehensive planning process, natural resource inventory, open space plan, or just concerned about water quality and development. Contact Jodi Castallo at 771-9020 or email Jodi Castallo

Property Taxes and Conservation Land. Following up on my inquiry last November I received six replies regarding land trust conservation land and property tax treatment. The only consistent thread was the inconsistency. Maine's property tax exemption law is anything but clear on this issue and this is reflected in widely differing treatment between towns and even by the same town over time. This inconsistency carries over into how towns and assessors choose to implement the Tree Growth, Open Space, and Farm Tax Programs. Some towns are supportive of conservation efforts (give 95% reduction on Open Space even without a restriction), some indifferent or even hostile.

Some towns grant tax exemption without question (Kittery, Saco). Individual land trusts have received different treatments in different towns (York LT feels fairly treated in York but not so in Wells and Ogunquit when it comes to putting land in Open Space). Individual towns treat individual land trusts quite differently (Wells exempts Laudholm Trust and TNC properties but has given the York and Great Works Land Trusts difficulty over their Open Space tax applications - little or no reduction in assessment). Trusts working in the same town have had changing responses over time (granted tax exemption in past but now requesting land go into Open Space). Several responders complimented a town's handling of the tax treatment of their conservation parcels while another with land in the same town found the assessor difficult to work with.

There did seem to be one common trend. For the most part, land trusts with close associations to the town government (assessor, manager, selectmen) faired much better than those that did not have a close relationship. Several of the land trusts had spent considerable effort to cultivate and maintain those relationships. All responders except one mentioned that they felt times were changing away from tax exemption consideration by towns for conservation lands. Several of the trusts were in active negotiations with their service communities on those changes. Some of the ideas mentioned were:

• Negotiating PILOTs (payment in lieu of taxes)
• Moving away from PILOTs into Open Space classifications
• Negotiating fixed User Fees
• Using the issue of taxing conservation lands to have a town wide discussion on the value of these parcels in the community
• Relying only on Open Space classification as easiest to understand and defend
• Negotiating to pay property taxes (on previously exempt land) as a show of support for community services

Communication and Outreach

Maine Land Conservation Conference sponsored by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust is coming on May 3rd at Brunswick High School. If your organization would like to have an exhibit now is the time to reserve a table. Last year over 300 people attended and 40 organizations exhibited. Cost for Maine Land Trust Network members is $10 exhibit fee (+ $35/ person conference registration). For non-profits and State Agencies $10 exhibit fee (+$45 / person conference registration. For all others $50 exhibit fee (+$45 / person conference registration. Contact Charleen Montz, 729-7366 x 113.

Partner Events / News

Town of Scarborough's Land Acquisition Committee is using both the Wells Reserve's Conservation Lands information and the natural resource information contained in Beginning with Habitat to develop an objective evaluation process for the purchasing of conservation lands. This evaluation process is an important first step following the passage of a $1.5 million bond issue approved by voters in November 2000. It identifies six categories (Preserve Natural Resources, Protects water quality, or Wildlife Habitat; Linkages, Buffers, Additions to Conservation Lands; Provides Public Access; Offers Recreational Opportunities; Community Character, Public Investment) and has numerous questions under each to help in prioritizing conservation opportunities. For more information contact Suzanne A. Foley-Ferguson at 883-1162.

Great Works River Watershed Coalition. In only their second year of monitoring water quality, this group has already found a number of ways to use their data. Maine Inland Fish and Wildlife will be using it to determine whether stocking is feasible. Trout Unlimited will be using it to determine recommended fishing areas. North Berwick and South Berwick are interested as residents swim in Bauneg Beg and Leighs Mill Ponds - both damed portions of the river. (From Maine Shore Stewards / Fall 2002)

Fifteen towns, organizations, and agencies have begun the Mountain to the Sea Conservation Initiative. This is an expansion of the Greater Mt Agamenticus Conservation Initiative to include all of the York River, Brave Boat Harbor, and Gerrish Island. This expands the area of interest for conservation from 33,000 to 48,000 acres. The partners include the six towns plus the Nature Conservancy, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge, Trust for Public Lands, York Land Trust, Great Works Regional Land Trust, Kittery Land Trust, York Rivers Association, and the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve. In November the collaboration receive $22,000 from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund to match $20,000 from the Nature Conservancy, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, and the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve for infra-red aerial photography of the target area that will result in high quality geo-referenced vegetation and land use maps for conservation planning and land management. Geo-reference allows the photographs to be matched up with property lines in GIS mapping.

Background

The Watershed Conservation Update is distributed by the Stewardship Department at the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve to provide timely, pertinent, and concise information and resources to volunteers and professionals working on watershed conservation issues in Southern Maine and nearby New Hampshire. The Wells NERR Stewardship Department supports community efforts to conserve natural resources by 1) facilitating collaborations for regional conservation planning, 2) providing access to natural resource information, 3) offering GIS mapping services, 4) promoting training opportunities, 5) providing outreach and communication services and 6) publicizing conservation related events and successes.

For more information or comments contact Tin Smith, visit our website at wellsreserve.org, or call 646-1555 x 119

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