Calendar

Effective Practices in Funding Land Conservation for Impact

with Jay Espy

Februray 8th  5-7:30 PM
(Feb 9th snow date)
Mather Auditorium, Wells Reserve

• 5:00-5:30 PM light snacks and refreshements
• 5:30-7:30 PM lecture

It has been estimated that new funding and tax incentives in excess of $5 billion per year will be needed over the next 30 years to conserve an adequate network of important landscapes across the United States. In an era of declining public funding, volatile financial markets and growing social needs, some exciting and creative new approaches to land conservation are emerging. Mr. Espy will discuss work he and recent Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies graduate, Gina Schrader, have been conducting over the past year to study the changing face of conservation as well as trends in philanthropic funding for conservation. Mr. Espy will share stories from Maine to illustrate their findings.

To register: contact Annie Cox at (207) 646-1555 ext. 157 or acox@wellsnerr.org

About Jay Espy
Mr. Espy is Executive Director of the Elmina B. Sewall Foundation, a grant making foundation focused on animal welfare, the environment and human well-being, primarily within the state of Maine. For the past year, he has been a Kingsbury Browne Fellow with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Prior to joining the Sewall Foundation in 2008, he served for two decades as President of Maine Coast Heritage Trust, a state-wide land conservation organization. At Maine Coast Heritage Trust, he oversaw conservation efforts all along Maine’s coast, including the protection of more than 125,000 acres and establishment of the Maine Land Trust Network which helps build capacity of local land trusts throughout Maine. He also led the Trust’s successful Campaign for the Coast, raising more than $100 million for conservation and doubling the amount of protected land on Maine’s coast and islands. He is a former Board Chair of the national Land Trust Alliance and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Land Trust Alliance. He holds an M.E.S. from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, an M.B.A. from the Yale School of Management and a B.A. from Bowdoin College.