Updates

In January, 19 new legislators (2 senators and 17 representatives) joined our friends on Beacon Hill for the new legislative session. The House and Senate released leadership and committee assignments, including some key changes. There is a new House Speaker, Representative Ronald Mariano (D-Quincy); and Senator Rebecca Rausch and Representative…

A "Stronger Together" training sponsored by the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition. Expanding Eligibility for Protection Funding through Farmland of Local Importance. Wednesday, March 24, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. via Zoom. Advance registration is required here. To date, NRCS in Massachusetts has routinely recognized prime farmland, unique farmland, and…

If you attended the 2021 Massachusetts and Rhode Island Land Conservation Conference, recordings of all sessions (except networking) are available through mid-June. Log on to the conference platform (click Enter Event) with the email you registered with and listen to all the incredible sessions you missed…

On January 4th, the Massachusetts Legislature passed An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy with overwhelming bipartisan support. The Governor has until midnight on Thursday, January 14th to sign the bill into law, or the legislature will have to start from scratch in the new session. Please…

In an incredible acknowledgement of the critical role nature plays in our wellbeing and economy, all four Green Budget Coalition priorities got increases in the operating budget approved by the legislature in early December. Unfortunately, the Governor vetoed three of those increases. There is still hope, but we need you…

Meet Your New Legislators: In January, 19 new legislators (two senators and 17 representatives) will join our friends on Beacon Hill for the 2021-2022 session. If a new legislator will be representing your service area, now is the time to start reaching out to introduce yourself and begin building a…

Not all donations of conservation easements are created equal. While the vast majority are truly charitable endeavors, a few bad actors are promoting conservation easement donations as a way for investors to make a fast profit by gaining access to very large federal tax deductions. These transactions are essentially tax…

On September 17, 2020 the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) released its SMART Agricultural Solar Tariff Generation Units Straw Proposal, which proposes greatly expanding the use of farmland for solar development. In part, the expansion relies on the premise that certain agricultural activities could continue under elevated solar panels…

Listed below, in no particular order, are resources that have been shared with the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition related to diversity, equity, justice and inclusion initiatives in the land conservation field. If you are aware of related resources that would be of interest to the Massachusetts land conservation community, please…

UMass and MLTC are partnering to put on a monthly webinar series for landowners on conservation-based estate planning. This work is funded through the MA DCR Working Forests Initiative. Topics for the webinar series include: family goal setting, using wills and trusts for passing on land (Nov. 10), determining the…