Policy Champions Receive Land Trust Excellence Award

Michigan Land Trusts Issue a Farm Bill Call to Action

Senator Stabenow tours a farm with Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy Executive Director Glen Chown (left) and Acme Township Supervisor Wayne Kladder

“The upcoming lame duck session of Congress is critically important. Pressure is mounting and the land trust movement must be ready to mobilize quickly to remind Congress why the conservation title programs are so important to our future.”

-Message from Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) relayed by Glen Chown of Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy

Watch the video

At Rally in Salt Lake City, Michigan’s Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy and Leelanau Conservancy jointly received the Land Trust Excellence Award in recognition of their stellar efforts to make land conservation very important to the Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)  and the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Dave Camp (R-MI).

We all stand to benefit from their efforts, but they need your help! Grand Traverse executive director Glenn Chown asked everyone to help get the Farm Bill enacted in December. If it's punted into 2013, we could lose $500 million for land trusts to buy conservation easements. Here’s how you can help preserve $1.58 billion in easement funding:

1. Visit www.farmbillnow.com and enter your address
2. You’ll see a pop up box with easy options to sign a petition and/or send a social media post to your representative
3. Pick a custom message to highlight conservation programs.

You can also call your representative directly (switchboard: 202-224-3121), ask for his or her ag staffer, urge them to sign the Farm Bill “discharge petition,” and follow-up with a copy of our new report on the economic benefits of easement programs.

• Video of the award presentation and call-to-action
• Press release about the award
• Other land trust advocacy success stories
• Highlights of what’s in the Farm Bill for land trusts
• Our Farm Bill webpage

Glen Chown (ED of Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy) and John Erb (Board Chair of Leelanau Conservancy) proudly display their new Land Trust Excellence Awards at Rally 2012, with Michael Dowling (Alliance Board Chair) and Rand Wentworth (Alliance President).

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy executive director Glen Chown and board member Ken Engle found an opportunity to speak with Ways & Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) after a local Chamber of Commerce meeting.

Michigan land trusts thanking Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) for his leadership in creating and expanding the income tax deduction for conservation easements at Lobby Day 2012. Pictured left to right: William Gebo of Little Forks Conservancy, Bob Marshall of Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, Brian Price of Leelanau Conservancy, Congressman Dingell, Glen Chown of Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy and John Erb of Leelanau Conservancy.

Leelanau Conservancy board chair John Erb (left) and executive director Brian Price (right), accept their award from Rand Wentworth.

Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy executive director Glen Chown can't stop smiling as he holds the award with Rand Wentworth, major gifts officer Kate Pearson and farmland protection specialist Brian Bourdages.

Brian Bourdages, Glen Chown, Senator Stabenow, Elizabeth Juras (Farmland Program Coordinator for MI Dept. of Agriculture) and Wayne Kladder (Supervisor of Acme Township) pose during their tour of a protected cherry orchard.

Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, accepts an award from Rand Wentworth and Glen Chown thanking him for his leadership in renewing the conservation easement incentive in Spring 2011.