Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire

“The By-laws of the Organization authorize the members to elect new members of the Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting. Should a vacancy exist between Annual Meetings, the Board may fill the opening by a majority vote at a duly organized meeting of the Board of Directors.”

“The only decision of the Board of Directors subject to approval by the members is changes to the By-laws of the Organization. Proposed changes may be brought before the Members at Annual Meeting or through a Special Meeting with prior notice of all current members.”

“The Organizations draft Form 990 is prepared by an independent accountant and reviewed by the Finance Committee and Executive Director in detail prior to filing. Questions are addressed to the preparer and resolved. The Board of Directors receives and reviews the final Form 990 return and votes to authorize its filing.”

“Each year during the annual financial audit of the Organization, each member of the Board of Directors receives a Related Party questionnaire. This questionnaire consists of questions designed to confirm the Board Members knowledge of or participation in any related party transactions. The questionnaire is signed and submitted by the Board Member and reviewed by the Executive Director and auditors. Additionally, the Conflict of Interest Policy has a disclosure process which Board Members and other Covered Persons should follow if a there is a potential Conflict of Interest.”

“Each year the Executive Committee, with input from the Board of Directors, evaluates the performance of the Executive Director and recommends any changes in salary or benefits. SELTs Board President and Executive Director researched publicly available information from Form 990s about the current compensation for Executive Directors for similar non-profit organizations. He or the Executive Director contacted various organizations to collect salary, benefits, and other information. The collected information was shared with the Executive Committee of the Organization for consideration. The report and recommendations of the Executive Committee were distributed to the full Board. The Board of Directors makes final decisions regarding continued employment, salary and benefits, which are recorded in the minutes of the applicable meeting of the Board of Directors. The Executive Director is not present at the meetings of the Executive Committee or Board of Directors when performance, salary and benefits are discussed.”

“The Organization makes its governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial documents available to the public upon request by contacting the Organization via telephone, e-mail or our web site.”

“Program Service Expenses 176,006, Grants and allocations 0, Revenue 6,867 EASEMENT STEWARDSHIP SELT monitored all 232 conservation easements held at the beginning of the year to ensure continued protection of the natural resources of these conserved lands. We also worked with our partners to support their monitoring of the 44 easements for which we hold the executory interest back up to the primary easement holder. Finally, we contracted with four municipalities to monitor town conserved lands. SELT completes this work through three full-time staff members and seasonal staff. Monitoring was completed primarily through site visits with monitoring using remote imagery conducted on 43 of the easements. SELT also hosted three tailored workshops and published a semi-annual Everlasting newsletter for easement landowners. SELT remains committed to addressing all trespasses or violations, no matter how small or large, in an amicable way to ensure a successful resolution where a positive relationship remains between us, the landowners and neighbors. No major violations were identified during 2024. In total, staff and volunteers spent 2,004 hours on easement”

“Program Service Expenses 23,565, Grants and allocations 0, Revenue 0 FOREVER FARMS LLC Forever Farms LLC, a single member limited liability company for which SELT is the sole member, owns a house and 236-acres of farmland and forests in Northwood, NH which is leased to a long-term tenant and abutting farmer, and managed for agricultural and forest health.”

“Program Service Expenses 2,766, Grants and allocations 0, Revenue 0 FLEXIBILITY FOR THE FUTURE LLC A single member limited liability company for which SELT is the sole member, is a real estate management and development company that owns an off-grid home and 647-acres of forestland with an undetermined use.”

“LAND CONSERVATION CONTINUED SELT completed two projects under our Clean Drinking Water program one was the 557-acre Jones Brook conservation easement in Milton, helping consolidate a block of unfragmented lands. SELT also assisted the Town of Stratham with the acquisition of the Ross Tract, an in-holding in Stratham Hill Park that protects the drinking water wells for the Stratham Memorial School. Under our Farmland initiative, two farms were protected SELT conserved the Smith Great Bay Farm in Greenland, Newington and Portsmouth in partnership with the Town of Greenland, one of the last remaining dairy farms in the region. In Brentwood, SELT and the Town partnered to acquire a conservation easement on the Fuller land, which included an Option to Purchase at Agricultural Value OPAV, providing the best chance for the land to remain owned and operated as a farm.”

“OUTREACH EDUCATION CONTINUED In April, SELT hosted the 14th annual Wild Scenic Film Festival at The Music Hall which had over 650 attendees. SELT also hosted a Conservation Celebration and Annual Meeting at Burley Farms in June with over 167 attendees. Finally, in October SELT hosted TrailFest which saw over 1,000 people attend for the third consecutive year, offering trail running, field trips, live animal presentations, rock splitting demos, and other nature-based education activities. Volunteers continued to make an immense impact with SELT. 188 volunteers helped with office work, trail work, habitat management, outreach events, and more. In total, volunteers contributed 6,418 hours of time, valued at 214,938 of donated services. Additional outreach is completed through direct engagement on our lands and easements, digital and print newsletters and social media, and partnerships with other organizations.”