Another branch of the Marean family has already put 92 acres of land into a #ConservationEasement in nearby Standish!
https://www.pressherald.com/2024/04/17/centuries-old-standish-farm-protected-from-development/
Archived version:
https://archive.md/8PYVG
#ForeverFarms #MaineFarmlandTrust
#ConservationEasements #SaveTheFarms #PreservingFarms #MaineFarms #SolarPunkSunday
Here's some good news about a neighbor down the road -- he and his wife put an Agricultural Conservation Easement on their 42 acre farm to protect it from future development!
"Special Broadcast Presentation on the Benefits of Agricultural Conservation Easements - Aug. 21st @5:30pm
Posted on: August 14, 2025 - 12:04pm
There will be a special broadcast presentation on #SacoRiver Community TV (Cable channel 5 )Thursday, Aug. 21st @ 5:30pm by #DonMarean regarding the process and benefits of placing an agricultural conservation easement in perpetuity on their farm. This presentation will also be available to view on our Town's YouTube channel! We hope you can tune in!"
Another branch of the Marean family has already put 92 acres of land into a #ConservationEasement in nearby Standish!
Town of Hollis YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SRCM-TownofHollis/featured
#ForeverFarms #MaineFarmlandTrust #ConservationEasements #SaveTheFarms #PreservingFarms #MaineFarms
via @MaineMonitor
A shady land deal in #BelfastME as a #ConservationEasement goes missing
A wetland in Belfast was supposed to be conserved “in perpetuity.” Instead it’s being sold as commercial property. DEP is investigating.
By Murray Carpenter
July 13, 2025
Excerpt: "#BankOfAmerica became the owner of the lot in 2006, when it bought #MBNA for $34 billion. In January 2025, Bank of America sold the lot at auction to #WeBuyAndResellHomesLLC, a Georgia company. According to Belfast Assessor’s Office, the lot sold for $15,750, and is assessed at $404,800.
"The new owner promptly listed the property for sale for $295,000, with no mention that it is a #wetlands #mitigation site. The ad, at CORE real estate, reads, 'Zoned commercially, the land is positioned for a variety of business ventures. Belfast is expanding, making this an ideal location for retail, office, or mixed-use development.'
"It’s hard to know how the wetland conservation project seeped through the cracks. Among the banker’s boxes of documents related to MBNA permitting in the #DEP archives, is an unsigned draft of the deed restriction, from 1997. The draft would not be enforceable, however, until it was signed and filed with the deed.
"#MaineDEP spokesman David Madore said the agency is investigating the matter.
" 'The Department’s approval of the 1997 development was contingent on the restoration and preservation of wetland functions and values on the compensation parcel,' Madore said in an email. 'The parcel was intended to be permanently preserved.'
"A Bank of America spokesperson declined to comment on the story, as did the Army Corps.
"These days, it’s an overlooked and forgotten lot adjacent to a bustling area. Someone is using an area near the road as a toilet.
"But back in the wetland, the #alders and #cattails have grown in as intended. On a warm July day, red-winged #blackbirds, common yellowthroats, and #RedEyedVireos sing. And, from deep in the wetland, comes the croaking of a #GreenFrog."
#SaveTheWetlands #BankOfAmericaSucks #Conservation #MaineNews #WetlandPreservation #ShadyDeals #SaveTheLittleRiverWatershed
Bills revive debate over #SearsIsland port plan
Maine Public | By Peter McGuire
Published March 12, 2025
"Lawmakers heard more than five hours of testimony Wednesday from both sides of a debate over preserving Sears Island in the Town of #Searsport.
"A pair of bills from state representative Reagan Paul would extend a #ConservationEasement across the island and restore #SandDuneProtections in a 330-acre parcel set aside for development.
"The Winterport Republican said it's time to end decades of controversial port proposals for the island in the town of Searsport. The latest plan is a floating offshore wind port by the Maine Department of Transportation that has so far failed to attract federal funding.
"'And yet #MDOT refuses to face reality, doubling down on failure and proving this is not about offshore wind, it is about pushing #IndustrialDevelopment at any cost,' Paul told members of the legislature's Environment and Natural Resources Committee.
"Local #conservationists support the proposal and said the highest and best use of the island is as a wild area. Any commercial development, including the wind port, can be done at nearby #MackPoint, a fuel and materials terminal."
Read more:
https://www.mainepublic.org/climate/2025-03-12/bills-revive-debate-over-sears-island-port-plan
#SaveSearsIsland #ProtectNature #Maine #WindTurbines #WindPort #PenobscotBay #ProtectSearsIsland #ProtectTheForest #ProtectTheDunes #WindTerminal #SandDunes #ProtectWahsumkik #EndangeredSpecies
#Siletz Celebrate Historic #LandBack Deal
Tribe’s focus will be #restoration, #preservation and #cultural uses like #FirstFoods for the 2,000-acre site at the base of #TableRocks in Southern #Oregon.
by Nika Bartoo-Smith, Underscore + ICT January 17, 2025
"The property was purchased directly from the previous landowner. The #NatureConservancy preserves a #ConservationEasement on the land. The Siletz will continue to work closely with The Nature Conservancy and the BLM across the properties in the region to emphasize conservation and restoration.
Expanding access to first foods
"Moving forward, the tribe’s goal is to create opportunities for Siletz tribal members to access the historically significant land while safeguarding its character. The nation plans to work on preservation and restoration, focusing on protecting the natural area rather than developing it.
“'There will be big opportunities for restoration and enhancement of the food plants themselves,' [Robert] Kentta said. '[And] also enhancing tribal members’ access to use of and reconnection with those resources that we’ve been separated from.'
"Kentta mentioned some important first foods of the region that he hopes will become a focus at the property, including #camas, #tarweed and #yampah root. The land will also be used for other cultural purposes.
"Chairman Pigsley spoke of her hope that future generations of Siletz people will be able to go up to the rocks, hearing important stories and learning about the plant and animal relatives all around."
Read more:
https://www.underscore.news/land/siletz-celebrate-historic-land-back-deal/
#SolarPunkSunday #Rewilding #Restoring #Nature #NativeAmericanNews #RogueRiverTribe #ConferatedTribesOfSiletz
#Landback:
The #legal obstacles and internal #policies of #landtrusts prevent the simple transfer of land without a #conservationeasement. As #sovereign peoples in our own land, we refuse to have land returned to us with #contingencies in place, other than those already in place by city, county, state, and federal governments- Cordero, for Association of #Ramaytush #Ohlone.
In recent years, the Land Back movement has been gaining momentum, rooted in the longstanding struggle for Indigenous sovereignty and the return of ancestral lands. Jonathan Cordero, founder and Executive Director of The Association of Ramaytush Ohlone (ARO) discuss his work in California.
DoomsdaysCW
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