Along this coast, each rock and tree leans defiantly into wind and waves that threaten change. Reflecting on this process, a good friend once poetically noted that Maine’s coast and islands resemble “a natural embattlement, protecting the coast from the ravages of development.”
We agreed that change was a more deliberate, rooted process here, and it gave us hope.
A coast so aesthetically stunning, ecologically diverse and culturally rich is by its very nature desirable. So much so, in fact, that over time it has become a node in the global real estate market. Many good people follow their dreams and make their way here, and as a part of this place they seek to reinforce our natural embattlements through conservation.
Upwards of 15 percent of our coast has been conserved by local and regional land trusts. These conserved lands provide incredibly valuable ecosystem services like cleaner air and water, recreational opportunities, and increasingly they support workforce housing, working waterfronts, forestry and farming. Maine’s land trusts are recognizing the value of our working heritage and making sure it has a place in our future.
During a recent visit to Cliff Island in Casco Bay, the Island Institute’s board of trustees loaded into pickup trucks for a tour of the island. At one point in the tour Roger Berle, one of Maine’s conservation leaders and a Cliff Island resident, spoke with passion about the community’s goal of placing one third of the island into conservation.
“A few more key parcels and we will succeed,” he said with pride.
We would learn that this pride comes in part from efforts to ensure that future conservation easements incorporate a mix of workforce housing, working waterfront access, open space and public access.
On Cliff, they are using the tools of conservation so that the community remains environmentally stunning, and of equal importance, a place where families can live, work and educate their children.
The town of Frenchboro (Long Island) has roughly 83 percent of its land under conservation, a higher percentage than perhaps any other coastal community in the state of Maine. The largest land transfer took place nearly 20 years ago, with community support. Nevertheless, as more and more acres are placed in conservation community members are asking, “How much conservation is enough?”
The largest Frenchboro land holder, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, has acknowledged this issue and has taken steps to increase its financial contribution to the town in lieu of paying property taxes. In addition, the trust has given land to the town on two separate occasions for year-round housing development (a condition of the original land deal). Yet there is no clear agreement on how much compensation is enough.
Around a breakfast table this summer, I wondered aloud if perhaps island and remote coastal communities should be setting overall land conservation goals in order to retain land that can be developed into a viable economic base. I was thinking about Frenchboro’s challenges and had just learned how the comprehensive plan for Block Island, R.I. explicitly addresses this issue, naming 50 percent as the desired amount of conserved land.
The response was resounding: “The solution is not to place limits on conservation, the solution is to innovate!”
It is true that limits are, well, limiting, and you can’t tell people what to do with their land. It would have been better to suggest that towns articulate their goals, as many have done through comprehensive planning—a guide for conservation groups rather than a hard line.
MCHT recently completed the Bridge End project in Little Deer Isle, a creative town-supported working waterfront and park project that follows the community economy theme. Innovations emerging from Maine Farmland Trust, Trust for Public Land and The Nature Conservancy also reflect a better effort to find the sweet spot where community economy and conservation overlap, much in the same way local land trusts have been doing for many years.
It is easy to imagine a future where conserved lands are dedicated to harvesting electrons from solar PV arrays, cutting community electricity costs and decreasing our dependence on fossil fuels for heat. Monhegan is considering just such a partnership between its power company and the local conservation group. Perhaps conserved lands will also distribute broadband that can support healthcare, education and remote jobs.
Rather than talking about limits, let’s find ways that existing and future conserved lands can directly benefit community economies in ways that surpass lost tax revenues. The appetite for open-space might be shrinking in many places but there will be excitement for innovative conservation efforts that secure the community economies along this coast.
Thanks to Island Institute intern Emily Vogt for providing data and analysis of conserved lands on Maine’s islands.
Rob Snyder is president of the Island Institute.