[Hvcatskillcewg] Please Read FW: Hudson Valley Land Trusts - NYSCPP & Accreditation Discussion

Tue Feb 19 13:16:50 PST 2008

Hello all,

Ethan Winter (New York Conservation Manager for LTA Northeast Program) has
offered to call into our meeting (towards the end) on February 27th.  The
call will be very helpful to all of us as well as LTA.  He has a couple of
major goals associated with that call... 

In Ethan's words:

1.  I want to ensure that the Alliance is attentive to the capacity-building
and technical assistance needs of New York's land trust community.  This is
especially true as we look ahead at the prospect of a significantly expanded
Conservation Partnership Program that could offer more comprehensive
technical assistance and greater capacity-building investments.  One goal -
by no means the only goal - of this initiative is to ultimately prepare land
trusts for accreditation.

2.  I and my colleagues are working very hard to ensure that the 2008-09
Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) includes a $2 million grants and
technical assistance program on behalf of land trusts in the Hudson Valley
and across New York State.  This one-of-a-kind program represents perhaps
the most robust model of local and regional capacity building for land
trusts in the entire country.  But, your input and guidance is critical if
this program and the Land Trust Alliance are going to be responsive and
truly effective in achieving excellence in private land conservation. 

3.  I want to be sure to plug the upcoming Northeast Conference (April
10-12), as Scenic Hudson is a Lead Sponsor.  There is an entire track
dedicated to "Standards & Practices/Land Trust Alliance Curriculum" that is
intended to build core competency in these key areas: easement and fee land
stewardship, easement defense, amendments, monitoring/baseline documentation
- and accreditation.  To learn more about the conference or to register,
send folks to the Alliance website:
<http://www.lta.org/training/lct_ne.htm>
http://www.lta.org/training/lct_ne.htm.  

The following are questions that Ethan would like the group members to
consider for the conference call during our February 27th meeting at the
Mohonk Preserve:

o        In what areas do the land trusts feel best prepared in terms of
implementation of Land Trust Standards and Practices?

o        In what areas do the land trusts feel least prepared in terms of
implementation of Land Trust Standards and Practices and their readiness to
apply for accreditation?

o        For land trusts currently in the accreditation process, or
expecting to apply in 2008, what feedback can be offered to New
York-Alliance staff to ensure we are responsive to your needs?

o        In particular, how effective has the NYS Conservation Partnership
Program been in supporting your work to implement Standards & Practices?
What could be done better?

o        What specific technical assistance needs do land trusts have that
could be addressed through enhanced support from the NYS Conservation
Partnership Program funding for coaching, mentoring, organizational
assessments, strategic planning, or other services?

o        If Hudson Valley land trusts could envision a "perfect" package of
capacity-building grants and technical assistance to help land trusts
prepare for and succeed in the accreditation process, what might it look
like?

o        What other needs/challenges/priorities could be addressed by the
Land Trust Alliance and our New York Advisory Board as the land trusts seek
to implement best practices and aspire to accreditation in the next 2-5
years?

o        Should the NYS Conservation Partnership Program's grants/technical
assistance make any distinction between accredited and non-accredited land
trusts in the future?  If so, Why and How would you recommend that we do
that?  

David M. Diaz
Conservation Easement Manager
Scenic Hudson, Inc.
Tel: 845 473 4440 x223
Fax: 845 473 2648
ddiaz at scenichudson.org 
Your Valley. Your Voice. Your Future.
__________________________________________________________

NATURE'S HIBERNATING -- BUT WE'RE NOT
Scenic Hudson works year-round to
protect the natural beauty of our valley
and the unique character of our towns.
 <http://www.scenichudson.org/> www.scenichudson.org
____________________________________________ 

  _____  

From: Ethan Winter [mailto:ewinter at lta.org] 
Sent: Friday, February 15, 2008 10:52 AM
To: David Diaz
Cc: Kevin Case; Katrina Howey; Denise Schlener
Subject: Hudson Valley Land Trusts - NYSCPP & Accreditation Discussion

Hi David,

Thank you for the opportunity to let me join the Hudson Valley land trust
discussion on February 27th regarding accreditation.  

As we have previously discussed, the accreditation process poses both
challenges and opportunities to land trusts.  With this in mind, I want to
ensure that the Alliance is attentive to the capacity-building and technical
assistance needs of New York's land trust community.  This is especially
true as we look ahead at the prospect of a significantly expanded
Conservation Partnership Program that could offer more comprehensive
technical assistance and greater capacity-building investments.  One goal -
by no means the only goal - of this initiative is to ultimately prepare land
trusts for accreditation.  

We are extremely fortunate to have such substantial public funding for land
trusts in this state - in order for us to do an effective job in developing
and delivering this program, we need to understand the evolving needs of our
members.  So, I greatly appreciate your willingness to include me in this
timely discussion.

Below are a few questions for the Hudson Valley group - I look forward to
our conference call on the 27th.  I am cc'ing other Alliance staff,
including our National Director Denise Schlener, in case they have
additional questions or ideas.  