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Newsletter Archives |
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Another Successful Year2007 was another successful year for the Grafton Land Trust. Among the conservation accomplishments were the acquisitions of the 33-acre Potter Hill Meadows and the 37-acre Roger Hohman Sanctuary owned by the GLT, forming the GLT’s two largest contiguous protected parcels, each 92 acres. In addition, two conservation restrictions were granted to the GLT in 2007 — the 72-acre Peter and Shirley Williams CR and the 13-acre Brigham Hill Community Farm CR. Great thanks are due to Ed Hazzard, who concluded his third successful year as President. As the new President, I’m also grateful to Ed for taking the Vice-President position. In looking forward at the year ahead, I’m pleased to recognize the strong Board of Directors and the dedicated and very capable Board Officers that the Trust enjoys. The Trust’s operating committees are well staffed with director and member volunteers and led by excellent chairpersons. And, after completing the two major Potter Hill purchases in the last two years, the Trust finances are in good shape. In contemplating the year ahead, the Grafton Land Trust’s 50th year, I would like to focus on four areas. A New Grafton Land Trust Website In the twenty-first century, an organization’s website is a key portal to communicate with its membership and the public. This year the Trust has begun a project to create a completely new website that will dynamically and interactively present a wealth of information about our properties and our programs. There will be index maps of the town that show our properties and the trail maps available. Pages describing our properties will display ecological descriptions, histories, photos, links to trail maps, trail descriptions, and more. Trail maps will be displayed on screen, directly printable, and downloadable. New members will be able to join the Trust online and current members will be able to renew. Activities and projects will be presented and people will be able to sign up online as participants and/or volunteers. The project has begun and we hope to have it up before the end of the year. Land Stewardship This year the Trust plans to start a Stewardship program for most of our parcels. Stewards are member-volunteers who “adopt” a parcel that they particularly like and oversee its management. They will monitor the health of the parcel’s ecology and the condition of the trails. Stewards will join the Trust’s Land Use & Management Committee and will call on the Committee’s and volunteer support to implement any project work that’s needed on their parcel. If you have a favorite Land Trust parcel, please contact the Board (Karen Fleming-Brooks: info@graftonland.org) to find out more. Land Conservation Priorities After the land and conservation restrictions acquired in 2007, the Trust is ready to take on new projects. There are a few more CRs in the works and the Trust will continue to work with th e Town of Grafton to monitor the priorities noted in the five-year Open Space and recreation Plan, 2007. The greatest conservation opportunities ahead are in an area the pan designates as the Eastern Corridor. Finance About two years ago, then-Treasurer of the Trust, Dick Dion, started using a new software package for the Trust’s book-keeping. Improvements in financial reporting since then have guided the Board through several large land acquisitions. Our current Treasurer, George Durfee, is continuing to make steady improvements in our financial reporting and controls. The Trust is fortunate that it now operates three rental properties to augment membership dues income to support its operations. In addition to citizen-members, the Trust is seeking local business partners as corporate members and as sponsors of specific projects and activities. The financial plan for the year is to operate the Trust on a cash flow breakeven basis while continuing to invest in necessary capital improvements for the rental properties. In closing, please watch for notices of the new website. It’ll eventually become the focal point of the Trust’s communication with the community. Please send us your email address so we can better keep in touch — just send an email to info@graftonland.org (with your name). And let us know if you’d like to adopt a parcel of land as a Steward. |
