Program areas at BTLT
Land Conservation - BTLT conserves in perpetuity highly valued natural areas, working lands, and shorefront using all the tools of private land conservation. At the close of FY 2023, BTLT owns 1,207.58 acres outright, and held conservation easements on 1,929.5 acres. These lands include ecologically significant coastal estuaries, wetlands, important plant and wildlife habitat, agricultural fields used for local food production, and small parcels providing green space and public access to rivers and ocean. Landowners donate or sell land or an interest in their land (i.e. conservation easement) to the trust. The public benefits of this program, available to residents of and visitors to Midcoast Maine, include: scenic landscapes; outdoor recreation opportunities; local agriculture; habitat and resource protection; flood protection; and water access for fishing and commercial shellfish harvesting.
Support for Local Agriculture - An important part of BTLT's mission is support for local agriculture. The trust supports agriculture in the following ways: protecting farm and pasture land for agriculture, including a 331-acre working farm; operating a farmers' market that provides a much-needed retail outlet for 40 local farmers and producers; providing a community garden that makes 80 individual garden plots available to community members and a 11,000 sq. ft. common good bed available to a local food bank to raise produce for its clients; and establishing the Merrymeeting Food Council in collaboration with other regional stakeholders. The purpose of the food council is to enhance the local food economy, raise awareness of the benefits of local food, and to increase the production and consumption of local healthy food in our region.
Land Stewardship - BTLT actively stewards its fee and easement properties to ensure that their conservation values are maintained. Every fee property is managed according to a site-specific management plan and every easement property is monitored annually to ensure the terms of the easement are being upheld. Other stewardship responsibilities include: managing property; defending easements; maintaining 24 miles of trails on properties that provide public access; building new trails; building and maintaining bridges, kiosks, and other amenities; providing appropriate signage; outreach and public education focused on conservation and natural resources. Stewardship activities are carried out on the 1,207.58 acres that BTLT owns outright and the 1,929.5 acres on which it holds easements.
BTLT continued their community education, offering a total of around 70 guided nature walks, workshops, and speakers this past year; their school-based programs served around 800 elementary school students annually with experiential, nature-based science lessons; their summer camp provided a week of nature exploration and learning for 224 children, including 10-15 scholarship campers.