THE WARREN CONSERVATOR SPRING 2022

From The President’s Desk

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I hope you find much of interest in our Spring 2022 newsletter; we certainly do have a lot going on! Many of those activities are described below.

Some very important aspects of our work, however, are not…like strategic planning, in which we are currently engaged. Not as much fun as blazing tails or planning interesting programming, but deeply necessary for an organization like ours.

Think, for instance, of the Warren Land Trust of ten years ago. It was an all-volunteer, financially solid responsibly governed organization operating out of the President’s living room and Land Commette Chair’s barn, with small, carefully stewarded portfolio of preserved and conservation easements, including a couple of trails.

Fast forward to today: we maintain twice as many properties, take care of over twice as many trails and a farm preserve, and with cautious confidence expect to increase the number of acres under our protection substantially in the next couple of years. We are still all-volunteer, with 16 actively involved board members (and part-time administrative help and office space in Town Hall!); we are still financially solid, and we are as responsibly governed as ever. Having received national Land Trust Alliance accreditation, we are obliged to adhere to their rigorous Standards & Practices; our stewardship of preserves and easements remains thorough. Whew!

The strategic planning we are now undertaking gives us an opportunity to take a breath and look back, and then look forward—to the next few years and well beyond. Can we keep growing at this pace? Should we? What longstanding aspects of our work remain most important to us? Which more recent phenomena in the field of land conservation feel compelling and relevant to our organization: Managing the effects of a changing climate? strategic conservation? farmland conservation? pollinator pathways and habitat corridors? environmental justice? food security? What kind of capacity and what resources will we need to realize our mission and our vision for the Warren Land Trust of the future? This exercise is perhaps not as enjoyable as a walk on one of our preserves. It is important, however, and very exciting, really. Stay tuned to find out more as we undertake this essential endeavor.

Sincerely, 

Rebecca Neary