A unanimous vote to support Woodward Point!

Last night, the Brunswick Town Council voted unanimously to contribute $150,000 toward the conservation of Woodward Point using funds previously set aside for water access needs. We are so thankful for this strong support from the Town Council and are eager to advance work on this exciting project in partnership with Maine Coast Heritage Trust.


Woodward Point has over 2 miles of coastline, features extensive open rolling meadowlands, pine and hardwood forest, a freshwater pond, and several good access points to the water. Now, with the help of the Brunswick Town Council, we are one step closer to creating a public access preserve with significant ecological value and excellent outdoor recreation and education opportunities for all ages and interests, ranging from fishing and kayaking to hiking and swimming.  

We have just a few more months to raise the remaining funds by our deadline on March 31. If you haven’t already, we hope you’ll consider making a donation to help get us to the finish line.

For more information or to make a donation,
visit btlt.org/woodward-point-project.

BTLT in the News, The Times Record covers Woodward Point

Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust and Maine Coast Heritage Trust have joined together to conserve Woodward Point and are calling on the town of Brunswick to help preserve the property consisting of 96 acres and 2 miles of shoreline. The Times Record recently published three articles regarding developments in this ongoing project.

See below for previews and click each title to read the full article.

Land trusts to ask Brunswick for $150K in public funds to conserve Woodward Point

January 15, 2019

 The Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust and Maine Coast Heritage Trust are asking the town of Brunswick to help complete the funding for conservation of Woodward Point on the New Meadows River.

The town council will consider the $150,000 request Jan. 24, according to a joint news release from the trusts.

“We’ve seen an incredible outpouring of community support for conserving Woodward Point and opening it to the public,” Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust President Angela Twitchell said in the release. “Funding from the Town would provide a critical lift in our push to the finish line. The project will bring numerous benefits to Town residents and visitors, but only if we can close the funding gap by the end of March.”

Guest column: Time for Brunswick to lend a hand to conserve Woodward Point

January 17, 2019

I made a fabulous discovery a few weeks ago. On a bright and icy cold day, I bundled up and headed over to Woodward Point in east Brunswick, eager to see for myself what Angela Twitchell, executive director of the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust, had told me was “an amazing place that almost no one knows about.” She was right. The view from the parking area was stunning, and it only got better on my hour-long exploration. Guided by Keith Fletcher from Maine Coast Heritage Trust, I crossed rolling hayfields, passed a stream and a large freshwater pond, poked around in the pine and hardwood forests, and stood in awe at the shimmering shoreline. There weren’t many birds to see on that cold day, but I had a lovely look at a porcupine sequestered high in a White Pine.  

For the past two years, Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust (BTLT) and Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT) have been working in partnership to preserve 89 acres on Woodward Point. With two peninsulas and more than 2 miles of shoreline on the New Meadows River, the property is one of the last remaining undeveloped waterfront parcels of its size in southern Maine. It’s also is one of the last large coastal parcels available to conserve in Brunswick. Woodward Point will be a public preserve, available for outdoor recreation, water access, and education. It will also protect an ecologically significant area. Of particular note are its shellfish flats, which are among the most productive in the state.  

Your Land: January at Woodward Point

January 18, 2019

It’s about promise. 

On Jan. 24, Brunswick’s Town Council will consider making the town a partner in the Woodward Point Project. That project nears both goal and deadline for raising the $3.5 million needed to purchase nearly 90 acres of shoreline that encompasses much of a longtime, saltwater cattle farm along the New Meadows River. The farm’s open fields, mixed habitat, good condition and more than two miles of shoreline are unparalleled in southern Maine. 

And thanks to the cooperative work of Maine Coast Heritage Trust and Brunswick Topsham Land Trust and their many supporters, we, the public, are within sniffing distance of forever access to this special land. 

If these two partners in preservation can raise the 300,000 remaining dollars needed by April 1st, they will be able to complete the purchase of Woodward Point and begin the work of imagining its public future. Which, by land and from the sea, will include you. 

Nature is powerful – so are you!

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BTLT in the News, “Land’s End”

“Land’s End”

November 2018


BTLT and MCHT are teaming up to conserve Woodward Point, a beautiful property over 80 acres large with over two miles of shoreline along two peninsulas on the New Meadows River in Brunswick. Recently, Down East magazine ran a story on the project.

With its sprawling pastures, spectacular views of the New Meadows River, and meandering forests at the water’s edge, Woodward Point’s defining quality is its unspoiled beauty. Bobolinks flock in the pasture. Mussels grow in a freshwater pond. Two miles of shoreline host great blue herons, oysters, and some of the most productive clamflats in Maine.

Jaki Ellis and Andy Cook fell in love with Woodward Point 40 years ago and made their fondest memories there. They raised cattle on the site’s more than 80 acres. Their kids learned to love the woods. In summer, they sailed from the dock at their back door, and in winter, they cross-country skied in the meadow.

All the while, they’ve watched the surrounding waterfront become private estates. Now, they’re retired and ready to move — but not ready to see the land they love meet the same fate. “We want to preserve the landscape,” Ellis says. “We don’t want to see it divided up and developed.”

The couple reached out to Maine Coast Heritage Trust and Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust in the hopes the organizations could protect their treasured land and ensure the community can enjoy it forever. The two land trusts have an option to purchase the property and are working to raise $3.5 million by March 2019 in order to make the acquisition and manage the property as a public preserve.

To read the rest, click here!

Dempsey Challenge coming to Brunswick!

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BTLT in the News, “Spring inspiration at Midcoast land trusts from Brunswick to Lincoln County”

“Spring inspiration at Midcoast land trusts from Brunswick to Lincoln County“

April 26, 2018

Local land trusts, including the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust, are featured in the Coastal Journal for some exciting spring happenings. Read on to see how you can get involved this season!

There is no shortage of areas to explore along the Midcoast this spring, but local land trusts offer more than just trails. Each organization has its own focus and schedule of events coming up. Some are out on the trails while others are workshops focused on preparations for spring, like how to start your garden.

You may know the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust from its role in the outdoor farmers market at Crystal Springs Farm in the summer and on the town green in the spring and fall. I am eagerly waiting for the first spring market day on May 5.

Following on the gardening theme, BTLT also puts on the impressive Taking Root Plant Sale on May 26, where you can simultaneously provision your garden with lovely native plants and support the land trust’s efforts.

And, if you don’t have your own garden to tend, but love digging in the dirt, one of the many volunteer opportunities possible with BTLT is to help at the Tom Settlemire Community Garden. The garden is used for educational programs and also provides produce for local food banks, in addition to having private plots for those interested in having their own patch. You can find out more at www.btlt.org/volunteer.

To read the complete article, click here.

 

 

BTLT in the News, “Trusts closer to conserving Woodward Point in Brunswick”

“Trusts closer to conserving Woodward Point in Brunswick“

April 25, 2018

The Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust was featured in The Forecaster recently, regarding the current project to preserve land at Woodward Point.

Two land trusts have raised nearly half the funds needed to preserve land at Woodward Point.

On April 16, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, announced the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Coast Wetlands Conservation Program would provide $570,000 to preserve 96 acres at the site. The conservation effort was launched last summer by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust in collaboration with the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust.

So far, the Maine Coast Heritage Trust and the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust have raised $1.62 million of the $3.5 million necessary to buy and conserve the property. Their deadline is April 1, 2019.

The land has 10,000 feet of shoreline, open fields and trail systems, with the capacity to support outdoor activities such as hiking, hunting and picnicking. The area also cradles “two commercially significant shellfish beds,” according to a press release from Pingree’s office.

Working with the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust, the Maine Coast Heritage Trust applied for a $1 million grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in June 2017.

“We ranked well, but it was very competitive,” Keith Fletcher, Maine Coast Heritage Trust program manager assigned to the project, said. “They gave us a partial award, and of course we are very happy with this result; it’s essential to completing this project.”

To read the complete article, click here.

Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust Earns National Recognition

At a time of political change, one thing is clear and consistent: Americans strongly support saving the open spaces they love. Since 1985, Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust has been doing just that for the people of Brunswick, Topsham, and Bowdoin.  In 2012, the Land Trust was one of the first in the state to apply for and be awarded national Land Trust Accreditation and now, five years later, we are proud to announce that we have successfully renewed our accreditation – proving once again that, as part of a network of 398 accredited land trusts across the nation, we are committed to professional excellence and to maintaining the public’s trust in our conservation work.

 

“Re-accreditation is an affirmation of how we have matured as an effective and responsible land trust that can be trusted in the communities we serve,” said Brad Babson, BTLT Board President. Emily Swan, Secretary of the Board, noted that “achieving accreditation is a lot of hard work for any land trust, but it means so much more than just being able to slap the Land Trust Accreditation Commission seal on our website and publications. All the policies and systems we put in place in order to achieve accreditation have made the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust a stronger, more sustainable organization, and have enormously increased our capacity to serve our local communities.”

 

The Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust provided extensive documentation and underwent a comprehensive review as part of its accreditation renewal process. The Land Trust Accreditation Commission awarded the renewed accreditation, signifying its confidence that BTLT properties will be conserved forever.

 

Accredited land trusts must renew every five years, confirming their compliance with national quality standards and providing continued assurance to donors and landowners of their commitment to forever steward their land and easements. Almost 20 million acres of farms, forests and natural areas vital to healthy communities are now permanently conserved by an accredited land trust. BTLT has conserved over 2,700 acres to date.

 

“It is exciting to recognize the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust with this distinction,” said Tammara Van Ryn, executive director of the Commission. “Accredited land trusts are united behind strong ethical standards ensuring the places people love will be conserved forever. Accreditation recognizes the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust has demonstrated sound finances, ethical conduct, responsible governance, and lasting stewardship.”

 

The Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust is one of 1,363 land trusts across the United States according to the most recent National Land Trust Census, released in December 2016 by the Land Trust Alliance. This comprehensive report highlights the significant achievements made by the nation’s 398 accredited land trusts:

  • Accredited land trusts have steadily grown and now steward almost 80% of conservation lands and easements held by all land trusts.
  • Accredited land trusts protected five times more land from 2010 to 2015 than land trusts that were not accredited.
  • Furthermore, accreditation has increased the public’s trust in land conservation, which has helped win support for federal, state and local conservation funding measures.

 

A complete list of accredited land trusts and more information about the process and benefits are detailed at www.landtrustaccreditation.org.

Giving Tuesday – What the teachers have to say

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