Dutchess Land Conservancy Inc.

Filing Period

Jan 1, 2010 to Dec 31, 2010

Signed

Aug 8, 2011

Return Version

2010v3.4

Gross Receipts

$2,248,699

Mission

Major Activities

Activity 2

Stewardship: the organization has now protected 33,161 acres stewarding 333 easements. The organization aerial monitors all properties annually and ground monitors its easements on a three to four year rotational basis. In 2010, the organization aerial monitored all conservation easements and completed 72 on a rotational ground monitoring schedule through staff and land stewards. The organization worked on over 95 stewardship matters from prior approval requests and land management questions to resolving easement issues. Each year the organization works to update old baseline documentation files. Staff completed updates to 12 older baseline documentation reports. Staff strives to keep up to date on internet services such as microsoft's mapslive.com which provides a very useful additional source of aerial photography. The organization's stewardship responsibilities continue to increase each year as more and more easements are accepted. The organization continues to improve the tracking of easement protected property sales, communication with land owners and maintaining a "watch list" of easement protected land on the market to check for new ownership. Throughout the year staff files critical easement related documents in the organization's archival storage unit in an off-site facility to ensure the long-term safety of the organization's most valuable documents. Volunteers: in order to help with stewardship and monitoring easements, the organization's land stewards volunteer team worked together with staff to successfully complete ground monitoring.

Activity 3

Education: educating people about conservation tools is an integral part of the organization's mission. The organization's staff regularly talk with municipalities, school groups, service and business associations, and private landowners about the importance of land preservation, sound planning, quality growth that protects important resources, and ways to keep farmers on the land. Local officials have been eagerly attending the organization's annual town board breakfasts which serves to bring towns and the organization together on cooperative issues and ideas. In 2010, the organization's 7th annual town board breakfast was attended by 40 town representatives. Teaming up with ducks unlimited and the millbrook school, the organization is working on a long-term project to manage purple loosestrife in the millbrook marsh by releasing beetles that feed exclusively on the loosestrife. The organization is monitoring the effects of these beetles on the plant diversity within the marsh twice a year. The organization also hosts educational programs for local citizens and the organization's members such as the organization's vernal pool workshop, and other programs to educate people about land stewardship and the organization's mission. The organization's vernal pool walk was attended by 5 people. The organization held an educational seminar for town planning board members, endorsed by the dutchess county planning federation, to educate more public officials about land conservation and conservation planning. 40 people attended the seminar. The organization participated in environmental awareness day at ibm in wappingers, watershed awareness week, earth day fair at dover high school with over 300 students attending, earth day celebration at bright horizons with 20 children attending, held a dedication ceremony at stone church with over 100 people in attendance, participated in a farm tour to 15 county legislators, hosted a farm, canning, freezing, and drying fresh vegetables and fruit event at mead orchards for 20 people, did a joint presentation with scenic hudson to the town of red hook on conservation easements, wrote an article on 'preserving forests' for the millbrook independent. The organization participated in the fine home show in the village of millbrook. The organization's staff spoke at 18 different venues including town meetings, presented at county legislature meetings, at a press conference in albany, on wamc radio, met with 35 other conservation organizations to strategize on collaborative projects, attended more than 40 seminars and classes to increase knowledge, participated on 21 committees (state, regional, and local) and attended various gatherings to educate people about land conservation. The organization's president also served as chair for the land trust alliance of new york advisory board. In addition, eight members of the organization's board and 4 staff attended the lta national land conservation conference (rally) in hartford to increase knowledge about the field of land conservation.

Filer

EIN

14-1667526