In their own words, landowners and community leaders describe why conservation matters

What do a vintner, conservation commissioner, and tree farmer have in common? They’ve all partnered with the Southeast Land Trust to permanently conserve critical open spaces and have shared their story through videos just released on the web. The videos speak about land conservation through the voice of local farmer Frank Reinhold of Lee’s Flag Hill Winery, community leader Alison Watts of Newfields, and tree farmer Jerry Langdon of Epping.  To view a video, just click on the links below!

• Tax Incentives Help Conservation Make Economic Sense explains the federal income tax incentives that ultimately convinced tree farmer Jerry Langdon and his wife Pat, a local realtor, to conserve their Tree Farm on busy Route 125 in Epping.

• Community Conservation Partnerships outlines how the Southeast Land Trust helped the Town of Newfields conserve the 316-acre Piscassic Greenway.  Local resident and conservation commissioner Alison Watts explains “I’ve also found the Southeast Land Trust are really able to help us understand what types of conservation projects will work, help us identify lands that are important, and help us work through the process of getting the Town to understand and approve of a conservation easement.”

• Protecting Farmland for the Future details how the sale of the conservation easement on Flag Hill Winery achieved personal and business goals for farmer and vintner Frank Reinhold.  Reinhold explains that “The money from the conservation easement was a critical part of my expansion, because we were Flag Hill Winery.  The amount of money received was directly put into the distillery and we became Flag Hill Distillery, the state’s only distillery.”

The Southeast Land Trust works in partnership with communities to conserve significant lands and natural resources. This short video outlines the effort to conserve the 330-acre Piscassic Greenway in Newfields, once slated for a 102-lot subdivision. Alison Watts, Newfields resident and Conservation Commission member, explains how the town benefited from partnering with the Southeast Land Trust. The property was conserved in 2006 by the Town, Southeast Land Trust, and Trust for Public Land, and is now owned by the Southeast Land Trust subject to a conservation easement held by the Town of Newfields.

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Land conservation is a voluntary partnership between a landowner and a land trust, community, or government agency.   Landowners, citizens, and communities may have similar reasons for protecting special places.  Depending on a landowner's goals and the natural resources of the property, there are several methods for long-term conservation, including conservation easements, deed restrictions, or transferring full ownership to the Southeast Land Trust. Read more: How We Protect Land

A conservation easement is a legally binding agreement between a landowner (the Grantor) and an eligible conservation organization or agency (the Grantee) that permanently restricts future development of a property.