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TRANSCRIPT
REGIONAL SERVICE
CENTERS FOR LOCAL
LAND TRUSTS:HOW AND WHEN
MIGHT THEY MAKE SENSE?by
Mark H. Robinson
Executive Director
The Compact of Cape Cod
Conservation Trusts, Inc.
2011
INTRODUCTION
The Compact is the oldest, self-sustaining regional service center
for land trusts in the U.S.
Land Trust Alliance, 2002:
Compact “a national model of sustainable land trust cooperation on a regional basis”
Source: Robert Bowers, LTA Board Chairman, letter to The Compact.
Texas State University, 2005:
Compact “an excellent example of how a grassroots effort of dedicated land trusts can build a sustainable service center that continues to evolve to meet the needs of land trusts.”
Source: Rebecca Ann Blecke, “Land Trust Training and Technical Assis-tance Programs: A National Assessment,” M.P.A. thesis, TSU, Fall 2005.
“Models of Collaboration Among Land Trusts”
by Sylvia Bates for Maine Coast Heritage Trust, June 2005
Conclusions:
1. Volunteers who manage land trusts find the full-time staff support of Compact crucial
2. Compact enables land trusts to do more work and more ambitious complex projects.
3. Compact’s philosophy: best way to keep Compact strong is to build capacity of land trusts
4. Compact does not compete with member land trust on fundraising
5. Compact cannot substitute for local leadership
KEYS TO SUCCESS
Ingredients of The Compact
1. Shared regional identity: an area that makes sense to people (Cape Cod, as opposed to MetroWest, whatever that is)
2. Scope: large enough to create economies of scale, small enough to be present in each community regularly
3. Create trust by time, familiarity
4. Longevity at the top
5. Create value-added for each member land trust; money being well-spent
6. Not just a clearinghouse, hands-on help
Vive la difference!
Most land trust service centers founded with
“top-down” approach or “other peoples’ money”
Examples:
1. Connecticut Land Trust Service Bureau founded by The Nature Conservancy
2. Gathering Waters land trust coalition in Wisconsin funded by state operating budget
3. LTA funded statewide land trust centers in NY and WA.
BUT, The Compact formed by local land trusts banding together and self-funding.
BEGINNINGS
How did The Compact start?
It was a sunny Saturday morning, light streaming in the basement windows of the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in 1986. The Celtics had just won their (still) last championship. The height of the 1980s development boom was upon us. Ansel Chaplin of Truro polled the delegates sent from five Lower Cape land trusts and Barnstable to see if they would be willing to pool some funds together to create a regional entity to provide formal support to their work.
The delegates were hesitant. Some were parochial, jealously guarding their community’s identity. Some feared creating a bloated, distant bureaucracy. Some wondered whether it could be sustained financially.
“Well, Brewster’s in,” said John Lobingier of the Brewster Conservation Trust. That broke the logjam and the others joined in. It was a form of social compact, each agreeing to work together for the good of the whole, for the good of the whole Cape’s environment…
Reprinted with permission of Cape Cod Life magazine, July 2006
Founder:
Ansel B. Chaplin (left) of Truro MA Compact convenor 1984-1986
Compact president, 1986-2001
Atty. Chaplin also helped to found the
Truro Conservation Trust in 1981 and
served on its board until 2006. He provided
pro bono legal counsel to The Compact as
well as presiding for 15 years. He still
serves on the Compact’s loan fund board.
Mark H. Robinson of Cotuit MAExecutive director
Part-time 1986-1988
Full-time, 1988-present
Founding Land Trusts of The Compact, 1986
LAND TRUST Delegate to Compact
Barnstable Land Trust, Inc. Elisabeth Eaton Clark
Brewster Conservation Trust John L. Lobingier
Orleans Conservation Trust Charles H. Thomsen
Provincetown Conservation Trust Richard LeBlond
Truro Conservation Trust Ansel B. Chaplin
Wellfleet Conservation Trust Gary J. Joseph
These six land trusts signed the articles of incorporation and secured their land trusts’
respective funding support for the initial $20,000 budget. As the convenor, Truro decided to
put in $9,000 and received 45% of staff time. Brewster contributed $6,000 and received 30%
of staff time. Wellfleet gave $2,000 and reserved 10% of available hours. The other three
land trusts put in $1,000 each and received 5% of the staff’s work on their projects. Mark
Robinson was hired as the part-time executive director; he had been consulting for Truro and
attending early Compact meetings as a secretary.
Second
office
of The
Compact1987-1993
Typewriter!
Cleared-out broom closet
measuring 8’ x 8’ = 64 sq. ft.
at Horsley & Witten, Inc.
(environ. consulting group)
Rent & Utilities: $100/mo.
First office: 50 sq. ft. next to
furnace in windowless
basement at Community
College, 1986 (free but
dismal)
Fourth office of The Compact, 2002-2008 on400 sq. ft. office on
second floor of Bank
of Boston branch in
Barnstable Village
Within walking
distance of registry of
deeds, regional planning agency,
county extension
service, Americorps
office, post office,
three delis, and two taverns! Everything
a land trust needs to
do its work.
Rent: $0
Heat & Elec. $0
Desk still messy…Rolodex from the 1980s
Yes, sir,
I understand you
think your land
must be worth a
million dollars, but…
Fifth office of The Compact, 2009 -660 sq. ft.
atop the
Barnstable
Village
general
store;
$420/month
rent plus
utilities
Michael Lach
Paula Pariseau
Mark Robinson
Compact staff, 2011
Board of Directors - 18(each Voting Member land trust pays
$1,500 per year and sends a delegate
to vote on Compact matters; meets 7x/yr.)
GOVERNANCE
Thomsen Land Fund Managers – 6
(appointed by Board of Directors, including 2
at-large, non-board members; has separate
decisionmaking on investments and requests by
land trusts for mini-grants and low-interest loans; reports decisions to Board; meets as
needed; advised by Exec. Dir.)
Staff – 3
Executive Director
Mark Robinson, 25 years
Assistant Director
Michael Lach, 11 years
Senior Land Protection
Specialist
Paula Pariseau, 8 years
(all full-time professionals)
Nominating
Committee – 3
Recommends
officers, and
annual award
recipient
Members of The Compact, 2007Association to Preserve Cape CodBarnstable Land Trust, Inc.
Bourne Conservation Trust
Brewster Conservation Trust
Chatham Conservation Foundation
Coalition for Buzzards BayDennis Conservation Trust
Eastham Conservation Foundation
The 300 Committee, Inc. (Falmouth)
Friends of Pleasant Bay
Harwich Conservation TrustMary Barton Land Cons. Trust (Cotuit)
Massachusetts Audubon Society
The Nature Conservancy (MA Chapter)
Orenda Wildlife Land Trust, Inc.
Orleans Conservation Trust
Provincetown Conservation TrustQuissett Harbor Preservation Trust
Sandwich Conservation Trust
Three Bays Preservation, Inc. (Barnstable)
Truro Conservation Trust
Wellfleet Conservation TrustYarmouth Conservation Trust
20 Voting Members – $1,500 minimum for dues and service; entitled to direct
service on projects, access to Land Fund loans and grants
3 Associate Members - $300 - $500 annual dues
PROGRAMS
Perceived Open Space Project: A two-year effort (2005-6) to identify all private parcels of land in each town (9,900 acres total) that are used for agricultural, recreational or institutional purposes, such as farms, summer camps, and museum lands, that may or may not be protected as open space. An outreach effort to encourage these owners to employ protective overlays on their lands will be pursued. Funded by a grant from the Jessie B. Cox Charitable Trust.
Cape Cod Land Fund: A revolving loan fund providing local land trusts with timely access to capital to purchase critical property for conservation. Capitalized at $650,000, the Fund has provided 30 loans since 1992 totaling $2.15 million. Over $79,000 in small grants have also been distributed to local projects. In total, grants and loans have resulted in the purchase of 600 acres worth $17 million.
Cape Cod Wildlife Conservation Project: This scientific mapping and planning process (1997-2003) advances the goal of preserving biodiversity on Cape Cod by identifying priority parcels of wildlife habitat. The needs of critical and keystone wildlife species have been evaluated, and lands with characteristics that fit those needs have been identified as high priorities for protection. Funding provided by International Fund for Animal Welfare, Sweet Water Trust, Woods Hole Research Center, and The Nature Conservancy.
Priority Ponds / Lands Project: This effort (2001-2003) identified the most important freshwater ponds to save on Cape Cod, based on their relative importance for water quality, wildlife habitat and recreational values. One result is a list of the top 200 pondfront parcels remaining undeveloped. An outreach effort is being made to the owners of these important pondfront parcels to educate them about conservation options. Funding provided by The Dolphin Trust and the Agua Fund.
Land Bank/CPA Training & Implementation: This is an ongoing grant-funded effort to provide land acquisition training and policy research for the volunteer land bank and Community Preservation Act committees in each of 15 Cape Cod towns. Seven training modules have been prepared on issues including negotiation, outside funding, and tax incentives for landowners. Funding provided by The Dolphin Trust, Island Foundation, and the Pegasus Foundation.
Take Back the Cape: Discovering Opportunities for Undevelopment: In 2001 The Compact produced a color booklet describing nine case studies on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard in which towns and land trusts have restored blighted developed sites into natural areas and parks. It is hoped that this publication will inspire other communities to consider efforts to do likewise. Funding by the Dunn Foundation of Rhode Island and the Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank.
Cape Cod Pathways: This project (1995-2004) involves the creation of a countywide network of linked walking trails from one end of the Cape to another. Over 50 miles of paths have been dedicated to the regional system. The Compact has produced five extensive interpretive trail guides, and planning maps for six towns and the National Seashore. Funding provided by the Jessie B. Cox Charitable Trust and Barnstable County.
There are only 300 acres of American holly/American beech forest on Cape Cod,
according to the Wildlife Conservation Project, a countywide GIS
mapping project published by The Compact in 2003.
In 2003, The Compact
published its Cape Cod
Priority Ponds Project, which
analyzed and ranked for
protection almost 3,000
pondshore parcels totaling
more than 12,000 acres.
In 2005, The Compact completed its Perceived Open Space Project,
inventorying about 9,000 acres on Cape Cod, all unprotected lands
used for recreation, agriculture or institutional use, such as the boy
scout camp in Yarmouth shown here.
Charles H. Thomsen Land Fund for Cape Cod
The Charles H. Thomsen Land Fund for Cape Cod is a The Compact’srevolving loan fund, providing local land trusts with timely access to capital to purchase critical property for conservation since 1992.
Charlie Thomsen was a founder of The Compact in 1986, Land Fund fundraiser, and long-time Treasurer and Vice-President. He also served as President of the Orleans Conservation Trust for almost 20 years. In 2004, he received The Compact's Chaplin Award for outstanding service in preserving open space on Cape Cod.
“A distinguishing quality of the Land Fund is the close connection between the Compact’s
leadership and the client land trusts. The land trusts work together to guide The Compact,
which creates a high level of trust and interchange. The commitment to shared risk
developed through an awareness of the work of each trust, and the governance role that these
land trusts play in The Compact, allow the loan fund staff and board to feel comfortable
offering generous, flexible loan terms.” Source: A Field Guide to Conservation Finance by
Story Clark, Island Press, 2007, p. 243.
Charles H. Thomsen Land Fund for Cape Cod
• Working capital: $650,000
• Loan terms: 1% -4%, unsecured, short-term (less than 5 years)
• 40 loans made since 1992
• Loans have ranged from $7,500 to $300,000
• $3,500,000 in loans made, all but $9,000 has been paid back so far.
• $95,000 in small grants have also been distributed to local projects.
• In total, grants and loans have resulted in the purchase of 681 acres worth more than $18 million.
The Thomsen Land Fund
provides money for land
acquisitions by tree-huggers
all over Cape Cod.
SERVICES
Contributions,
Grants
21%
Land Trust
Memberships
8%
Land Trust
Service Fees
62%
Town
Consulting
Services
9%
COMPACT REVENUES, 2006
Most of the funding for The Compact’s operations
comes from the land trusts themselves, in the form
of annual dues and fees for direct services on their
local projects. Source: 2006 audit of The Compact
How Compact staff time is spent
Regional
Projects
20%
General and
Administration
4%
Member Land
Trust Projects
76%
Source: Compact timesheets, 2005
How does The Compact bill for land
trust services?• Each Voting Member land trust is entitled to 20 hours of
direct service on its projects for its base $1,500 dues and fees.
• Compact secures authorization from land trust president for each new project
• Each additional hour is billed at $36.00 per hour for each staff person; 2011 staff salary & overhead ranges from $41 to $58 per hour
• Outside grants and contributions to operations subsidize hourly rate for land trusts
• Staff keeps daily logs of each quarter-hour used on land trust projects
• Land trusts billed twice per year with total hours tallied
Compact Operating Budgets and Annual Dues
YEAR BUDGET LAND TRUST SERVICE
DUES FEES
1986 $ 20,000 $1,000 $20/hr.
1992 $ 45,000 $1,000 $25/hr.
2000 $145,000 $1,500 $25/hr.
2005 $200,000 $1,500 $30/hr.
2008 $270,000 $1,500 $35/hr.
The Compact has been able to keep dues and fees low, owing to increase in
land trust memberships, and subsidies in the form of grants and donations.
Types of services provided
to Member land trusts:• Landowner outreach and negotiations
• Deed, conservation restriction drafting and approvals
• Natural resource baseline & property inventories
• Educational workshops for land trusts and landowners
• Regional open space research & ranking
• Land use management plans for conservation areas
• Grant writing
• Newsletter writing, editing, layout
• Advice on public filings
• Fundraising campaign structure
• Membership development coordination
• Liaison to county, regional and state non-profits & agencies, media
• Cultivation of regional network of professionals available to assist land trusts at no or low cost
• Whatever else land trusts want/need and cannot get done with their available help!!
All-volunteer land trusts can do land projects without The Compact.
They cannot do multiple, complex projects simultaneously without The Compact.
The Compact arranged
this entire deal for the
all-volunteer Yarmouth
Conservation Trust and
the Town. The Compact negotiated the purchase,
secured the loans and
guarantee, and wrote the
State grant and the CR.
SERVICES NOT PROVIDED
• Land trust membership data base
tracking
• Envelope stuffing
• On-the-ground land maintenance (i.e., driving around with rakes and saws)
• Most tax filings
• Local leadership
Photo by Farley Lewis
How do we measure The Compact’s success?
ACRES PRESERVED BY
LOCAL LAND TRUSTS
CAPE CODFive-year totals Acres
1962 to 1966 52
1967 to 1971 96
1972 to 1976 240
1997 to 1981 206
1982 to 1986 650
The Compact founded in 1986
1987 to 1991 469
1992 to 1996 1,372
1997 to 2001 1,286
2002 to 2006 1,420
1. Local land trusts have been able to accelerate their land acquisition work
since The Compact began making an impact in the late 1980s.
2. Testimonials re: credibility
…Robinson is fortunate to be plugged into the network of land trusts
across the Cape, "a very quiet collection of champions for open
space," he said. "There would be no Compact were it
not for these people wanting to see each other
succeed all over the Cape."Their combined expertise is why towns, trusts, state agencies and
national conservation groups view Robinson and the Compact as a
clearinghouse for conservation projects, from walking trails to habitats
of endangered species.
"He's an asset to Cape Cod, that's for sure," said Elliott Carr,
president of the Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank. "We saw the
Compact out there, fighting for open space, before there was a land
bank," said Carr, who is also a board member of the Brewster
Conservation Trust. “Robinson knows as much about the land in
Brewster as any of us and is constantly coming in with
ideas and expertise." Cape Cod Times, 1999
3. Stability in leadership
Ansel B. Chaplin
President,
1986 - 2001
Richard A. Johnston
President,
2001 – present
Mark H. Robinson
Executive Director,
1986 – present
4.
No
Voting
Member
has ever
left The
Compact
Each land trust
votes each
year whether
or not to renew
its membership in The
Compact. No
land trust is
obligated to
join or rejoin. The fact that
none has ever
resigned its
membership
indicates that each land trust
feels it is
getting value
for its dollar, in
terms of services and
access to
benefits.