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October 2024 | Land Trust eNews
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Maryland Environmental Trust Spotlight |
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 Land Trust Roundtable on November 7
Join MET for our next Land Trust Roundtable on November 7, 2024. This Roundtable will discuss the changes to MET’s updated Cooperative Agreement template and monitor reporting options and requirements. The Roundtable will also include an introduction to MET’s new process for managing documented violations and an interactive discussion on violation detection and management. Participants will be encouraged to share their experiences, insights, and challenges. Our goal is to renew and clarify goals and expectations with our collaborators to accomplish all of our missions.
MET Updates Cooperative Agreement
At their September 2024 meeting the MET Board of Trustees approved revisions to MET’s Cooperative Agreement. The current Cooperative Agreement template is available on MET's website.
MET periodically revises the Cooperative Agreement to better define partnership expectations, priorities, and to align with best practices. The Cooperative Agreement sets out the relationship with MET and a land trust organization to clarify roles and establish common understanding. The purpose of the Agreement is to advance land conservation by working collaboratively to support mutual goals and activities. For more information or to renew your Agreement contact Michelle at michelle.grafton@maryland.gov
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Keep Maryland Beautiful Grant Program Includes Capacity Building Grants for Maryland’s Land Trusts
The Maryland Departments of Natural Resources, Transportation, and Agriculture, along with the Chesapeake Bay Trust, are partnering to accept applications for this year’s Keep Maryland Beautiful Grants program. These grants are offered annually to support environmental education projects, community stewardship, and the protection of natural resources in urban and rural areas.
Applications for funding will be accepted through November 15. Keep Maryland Beautiful grants include: community stewardship grants for volunteer groups, nonprofits, local governments, and schools; capacity building grants for Maryland’s land trusts; and grants for nonprofits to implement forestry projects on agricultural land.
Also, don't forget to nominate a representative from your land trust or another Maryland land trust for the 2025 Aileen Hughes Award! The Aileen Hughes Award is presented annually to an individual representing a Maryland land trust who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in land conservation.
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Maryland’s Greenspace Equity Program
The Greenspace Equity Program was established in 2023 through legislation (Chapter 487 of 2023) to provide grants to eligible applicants for enhancing the public health and livability of overburdened and underserved communities by implementing projects to preserve, create, and improve public greenspace in overburdened and underserved communities. Applications are due on November 1, 2024 by 3:00pm. Learn more.
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Boldly Mapping: Leveraging NASA missions in ArcGIS for Invasive Species Challenges
October 29 | Free
Join Natural Areas Association for this webinar where they invite NASA to provide an overview of satellites and sensors, from the familiar Landsat, MODIS, and VIIRS to forthcoming cutting-edge missions like GEDI, HyMap, SBG, and GLIMR. Discover how these technologies pave the way for innovative solutions in invasive species management. The webinar will also explore how to leverage these data within ArcGIS, unlocking a realm of analytical capabilities at your fingertips. Learn more.
Red Alerts and Red Herrings: Communicating During Crisis
October 31 | Registration Fee
Everything has been running smoothly at your land trust when suddenly, a crisis hits: an easement violation, a problematic donor, someone is bad-mouthing you online. How do you handle it? How do you know if this is even a crisis? Avoid getting spooked and attend this webinar if you are a land trust staff member, board member or volunteer in any role who speaks with people outside of your organization. Learn more.
Addressing Assisted Migration in Research and Practice: A Rooted in Research Webinar Series
Multiple dates | Online
In this four-part webinar series, panelists explore the research, planning, and implementation of assisted migration. Presentations and panel discussions by scientists and natural resource professionals will share recent assisted migration research while showcasing success stories and confronting challenges of this innovative forest management practice. This webinar series is a collaboration with the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science and the USDA Northeast and Northern Forests Climate Hubs. Learn more.
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Tools, Tech and Tutorials |
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 Tracking Land Trust Protected Lands Data
Earlier this year, MET, MDP and DNR held a joint webinar about their collaborative effort to collect and map the most comprehensive land trust protected lands data. If you are interested in learning more about this webinar or are ready to share your GIS data please contact michelle.grafton@maryland.gov
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 Building Better Boards Library
Forever Maryland developed this exciting program to help local land trusts and conservation organizations build stronger and more influential Boards of Directors. The online library includes video recordings of our Building Better Boards workshop series and a virtual binder.
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 UME's Natural Area Management Services Directory
This directory is developed by the Woods in Your Backyard Partnership and the University of Maryland Extension's Woodland Stewardship Education program The directory serves as a way to connect land owners and managers to green industry services providers.
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Share Your News
If you would like to share relevant conservation news, success stories, announcements or events with Maryland's land trusts and conservation partners through this publication, please contact Michelle Grafton by the first of each month at michelle.grafton@maryland.gov.
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