Connecting People and Partners
"Relegating conservation to government is like relegating virture to the Sabbath. Turns over to professionals what should be the daily work of amateurs" - Aldo Leopold
Towns are often natural resource rich and cash poor. In addition, well-intentioned community members are often not sure how to go about starting a land protection project. Too often these factors can lead to inaction and missed conservation opportunities.
Despite a lack of money, it is possible to protect land. Community members can play a critical role in facilitating land protection in their towns. In fact, the most valuable role of all—serving as a facilitator and a trusted, local source of knowledge for both landowners and conservation organizations or agencies—can ONLY be played by a community member.
The Connecting People and Partners Guide and Approach
allows communities to identify conservation partners by determining a parcel's conservation value(s). The guide was developed with town specific maps that give detailed information about parcels of highest conservation value. A conservation worksheet is provided to assist community member in determining the appropriate conservation organization, including their contact information.
The Connecting People and Partners guide also helps improve towns' involvement in, and understanding of, land conservation. The guide includes a description of conservation tools, local conservation organizations, suggestions on how to approach land owners about conservation, and a description of the state's “current use” program's right-of-first refusal option.
Although the guide was developed as a pilot project for five towns in the highlands of western Massachusetts, the approach and much of the information is relevent to most communities in Massachusetts, and beyond. The guide offers information community members are often in need of, including: conservation organization contact information, which conservation organization to contact when opportunities arise, how to talk to your friend and neighbors about their land conservation options, and information on the Ch. 61 righ-of-first refusal process.
