FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Margaret Potter,
Director of Development & Communications
Genesee Land Trust
(585) 256-2130 | info@geneseelandtrust.org
ROCHESTER, NY -- Genesee Land Trust, a non-profit land preservation organization, founded in 1989 and serving Wayne and Monroe Counties, is now protecting 627 acres of prime farm land and important tributaries of Sodus Bay located in the town of Sodus. The development rights to this Wayne County property are held by Genesee Land Trust while the land itself is owned by Cracker Box Palace, a non-profit farm animal rescue and rehabilitation center. The awarding of a $607,000 FRPP federal grant in May of 2010 (Farm and Ranchland Protection Program) to Genesee Land Trust helped to make this project possible. Additional FRPP grant funding will enable the preservation of three other farms in Wayne County.
Protecting farmland in Wayne County is not new to Genesee Land Trust. Over ten years ago, Gay Mills, executive director of the Trust, and Ora Rothfuss, Agricultural Specialist of the Wayne County Planning Board, met to discuss how Genesee Land Trust might facilitate farmland preservation in Wayne County. Since that time, Genesee Land Trust, under Mills’ leadership has become an experienced partner for towns interested in collaborating on New York State and federal grant programs to purchase the development rights on farmland. To date, the Trust has successfully partnered with the towns of Macedon, Walworth, Ontario and Williamson and in addition to the 627 acres in Sodus, (Alasa Farms) the Trust protects over 1,971 acres in Wayne County. The value to local economies, as well as the peace of mind to property owners, cannot be overstated. All involved in farmland preservation see these collaborative projects as win-win situations where the property owners, local residents and land trusts are pleased with the outcomes of their work.
Alasa Farms, overlooking Sodus Bay, is a unique property as it possesses prime soils supporting a working farm, and the highest quality habitat from woodlands to streams, marshes and is a migratory bird stopover. Its beauty, productivity and importance to people living or visiting the area, is historic. Genesee Land Trust is excited about the stewardship work that lays ahead and proud to be protecting such a special place, one much loved by residents of the area.
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Genesee Land Trust, a non-profit founded in 1989, protects nearly 4000 acres in Monroe and Wayne Counties. With a mission to protect woods, wetlands, waterways, farmland, fish and wildlife habitat, scenic and recreational lands, Genesee Land Trust protects land by acquiring properties (preserves) or by acquiring the development rights to the land (conservation easements). It is proud to add Alasa Farms to its list of conservation easements. Genesee Land Trust, now holding the development rights to Alasa Farms, will steward these 627 acres, overlooking Sodus Bay forever. It is pleased to be working in partnership with Cracker Box Palace, a non-profit that owns the property. Our joint work will benefit the greater Sodus community.
Contacts: Ethan Winter
Land Trust Alliance
518-587-0774 | ewinter@lta.org
Michael Bopp
NYS DEC
(518) 402-8000
ALBANY, NY -- The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Land Trust Alliance (the Alliance) joined members of the state Legislature and land trust representatives today to announce $1.4 million in Conservation Partnership Program grants. The grants, funded through New York State’s Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), will enable local nonprofit land trusts to increase the pace, improve the quality, and ensure the permanence of voluntary conservation of private lands, resulting in significant environmental and economic benefits for communities across the state.
"The New York State Conservation Partnership Program advances Governor Cuomo's agenda for A Cleaner, Greener New York," said Joe Martens, Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation. "New York State’s financial support for the Partnership Program is critical to the important work of land trusts who, in partnership with communities across New York, provide vital protection of open space for its environmental and economic value.”
“New York State has demonstrated its support of local land trusts and their vital mission to save the places New Yorkers cherish and depend on for clean air and water, food, and recreation,” said Rand Wentworth, President of the Land Trust Alliance. “I commend Governor Cuomo, Commissioner Martens, Senator Grisanti, Assemblyman Sweeney, and other members of the Legislature for their support of this pioneering initiative. The EPF and the Conservation Partnership Program are cost-effective investments that pay dividends for public health and New York’s economy.”
The competitive state grants announced today will be matched by more than $1.82 million in private and local funding. Since the program’s inception in 2002, the Conservation Partnership Program has leveraged over $12 million in additional funding, creating employment and advancement opportunities in the conservation field and helping local communities permanently conserve approximately 15,000 acres of farmland, wildlife habitat, recreation areas, and urban open space.
Since 2002, the Conservation Partnership Program has awarded matching grants for 350 projects benefitting 75 different land trust organizations across the state. The grants announced today will help local land trusts sustain and expand community and landowner outreach, land conservation, stewardship, and education programs. The grants will create new land trust jobs and strengthen partnerships with local and state governments, advancing efforts to preserve prime farmland, municipal watersheds and green infrastructure around the state. Land trusts will also apply funds to prepare for national accreditation, supporting New York land trusts’ commitment to best practices and rigorous standards for organizational excellence.
State Senator Mark Grisanti (R-Buffalo), Chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, said “By working together and connecting the work of land trusts in communities from Buffalo to Long Island, we are helping New York be a national leader in conserving and protecting working farms and private lands that support local jobs and businesses. This partnership benefits Grassroots Gardens of Buffalo and is a model for the EPF, and I look forward to its continued success.”
Assemblyman Robert Sweeney (D-Lindenhurst), Chair of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee, remarked, "This is a challenging time for homeowners, charities, and businesses across New York State. Empowering local communities through the Conservation Partnership Program is one proven way to give New York's citizens a voice in their future. It is also an effective way for New York to get the most out of the Environmental Protection Fund. We applaud the work land trusts do on Long Island and across the state and look forward to supporting the program in the coming years.”
Recent research underscores how investments in land conservation and open space boost property values, support local businesses, save taxpayer dollars, and protect public health, for example, by preserving watersheds and aquifers that provide clean drinking water for millions of New Yorkers. A report last year from the Trust for Public Land found that parks and open space on Long Island generate $2.74 billion in direct economic benefit from tourism, reduced government costs and public health. A 2010 report from the New York State Comptroller recommended the Conservation Partnership Program as a model for public-private collaboration because it leverages substantial resources for local efforts to preserve clean air and water resources, agriculture, and outdoor recreational opportunities close to home.
In all, 57 nonprofit land trusts across New York will receive grant funds announced today, including the North Shore Land Alliance, Hudson Highlands Land Trust, Columbia Land Conservancy, New York Agricultural Land Trust, Finger Lakes Land Trust, Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust, Genesee Land Trust and Western New York Land Conservancy. Grant funds are intended to assist land trusts in advancing goals set in the New York State’s Open Space Plan and state wildlife action plan.
The grants will also support urban open space programs administered by the Manhattan, Bronx and Brooklyn-Queens Land Trusts, Yonkers Land Conservancy, Kingston Land Trust, Capital District Community Gardens, and Grassroots Gardens of Buffalo.
More than 150 land trust representatives and environmental advocates were on hand for the announcement, held in conjunction with the Friends of New York’s Environment Lobby Day in the State Capitol. Earlier in the morning, land trust leaders thanked Governor Andrew Cuomo for avoiding additional cuts to New York’s Environmental Protection Fund in his proposed Executive Budget. Environmental leaders urged the Legislature to consider the economic benefit of EPF investments in local communities, including projects funded through the Conservation Partnership Program.
“The Conservation Partnership Program is an example of an EPF initiative that has demonstrated impressive state-wide success by supporting and investing in land trusts in our communities,” said Becky Thornton, president of the Dutchess Land Conservancy and chair of Land Trust Alliance’s New York Advisory Board. “This program unites the goals of New York’s Open Space Plan, the needs and desires of local municipalities, and the energy and enthusiasm of private landowners and grassroots land trust partners to protect the land. When we work together, we can make a huge difference for communities across New York State.”
“Conserving productive farms benefits New Yorkers by ensuring the availability of fresh, local food and also by supporting the agricultural industry, an important contributor to the state’s economy,” said Teri Ptacek, executive director of the Agricultural Stewardship Association. “The Conservation Partnership Program is allowing us to dramatically accelerate the pace and quality of farmland conservation in Washington and Rensselaer counties while enhancing our capacity to support farmers and agricultural businesses in our community.”
“North Shore Land Alliance is increasing local land protection efforts by building relationships between land and people throughout our community,” said Lisa Ott, president of North Shore Land Alliance. “We have been fortunate to receive several grants through this very important program, enabling us to engage stakeholders throughout Nassau County. Examples include our new Small Farm Initiative and a youth stewardship program in Hempstead, an under-served community. These programs would not have been possible without support from the New York State Conservation Partnership Program and the Land Trust Alliance.”
“Community gardens are the lifeblood for many New Yorkers,” said Demetrice Mills, board president of Brooklyn Queens Land Trust. “The 37 community garden properties managed by the Brooklyn Queens Land Trust provide for nutritious local food production, quiet contemplation, social and cultural events, youth and adult programs, and appreciation of nature and the environment. Our 500 gardeners treasure the opportunities provided by these permanent urban open spaces. Support from the Conservation Partnership Program and the Environmental Protection Fund gives us this opportunity.”
“Preservation of forests, working farms, rivers and natural open space is crucial for maintaining the character of our rural communities and protecting irreplaceable natural resources,” said Gregory Belcamino, board president of Delaware Highlands Conservancy. “The Conservation Partnership Program is providing critical funding for the Conservancy to prepare for accreditation, expand the scope of its private land protection activities in Sullivan and Delaware counties and connect with more landowners and citizens through educational programming, for the benefit of all New Yorkers.”
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The Land Trust Alliance is the national leader of America’s land trust movement, serving 1,700 non-profit land trusts nationwide, including 90 organizations in New York. The Alliance works to accelerate the pace, increase the quality, and ensure the permanence of land conservation in New York and across the country.
The Alliance administers the Conservation Partnership Program in coordination with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. For information about the Land Trust Alliance and the Conservation Partnership Program, please visit www.landtrustalliance.org or contact Ethan Winter in the Alliance’s Northeast office at (518) 587-0774 (ext. 207) or at ewinter@lta.org.
Contact: Andrew Zepp
607-275-9487
ITHACA, NY -- The Finger Lakes Land Trust announced today that it has received an unprecedented gift of land featuring 1,300 feet of pristine shoreline on Skaneateles Lake. The twenty acre property is located in the Town of Spafford and features steeply sloping woodlands overlooking the lake as well as a significant portion of the Staghorn Cliffs – a 100 foot escarpment that is well known for its scenic character and its abundant fossils.
The gift was made by Syracuse area resident David Dickinsonand his children: Thomas Dickinson, Scott Dickinson, Gary Dickinson, Laura Dickinson Maguire, and Hollis Dickinson Wilson. The land had been in their family for more than 50 years.
The Dickinson property is located in an area known as the Skaneateles Highlands – a mosaic of forest and agricultural lands that encompass the southern half of Skaneateles Lake. The Land Trust recently completed a conservation plan for the Highlands, which identified undeveloped shoreline as the highest priority for protection.
A year in the making, the Dickinson family’s donation to the Land Trust reflects their desire to keep the land in its natural condition. “That was our intention all along,” says David Dickinson. “My mother discovered the property. We wanted to retain the beauty of the cliffs and preserve the gorgeous south end of the lake in appreciation of her.”
“This is a tremendous gift,” says Land Trust Executive Director Andrew Zepp. “We’re grateful to the Dickinson family for their generosity and their commitment to the land.”
“The south end of Skaneateles Lake is truly magnificent,” adds Skaneateles resident and Land Trust board member Doug Sutherland. “This remarkable gift secures an outstanding stretch of that shoreline. We hope it becomes the cornerstone for additional land protection in the watershed.”
“The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) applauds the Dickinson family and the Finger Lakes Land Trust for the donation and preservation of shoreline in this important watershed,” adds NYSDEC Regional Director Ken Lynch. “We appreciate the efforts of such great partners in fostering the conservation of New York’s magnificent open space and natural resources.”
The acquisition of the Dickinson property is the sixth project completed by the Land Trust within the Skaneateles Lake Watershed. Previous projects include the acquisition of Carpenter’s Falls and the establishment of the High Vista Nature Preserve, as well as the acquisition of a conservation easement on more than 2,000 feet of frontage on Bear Swamp Creek – one of the largest tributaries to the lake.
During the coming year, the Land Trust will develop a management plan for this latest acquisition. In honor of David Dickinson’s mother, the property will be known as the Cora Kampfe Dickinson Conservation Area.
The organization is also continuing to pursue the protection of additional lands within the Skaneateles Lake Watershed and fundraising is underway to support these efforts and to cover costs associated with the long-term stewardship of the Dickinson property.
The Finger Lakes Land Trust was established in 1989 to work cooperatively with landowners and local communities to protect those lands that define the character of the region. To date, the organization has secured more than 12,000 acres of significant open space lands through direct acquisition as well as the use of conservation easements on lands that remain in private ownership. The Land Trust today owns and manages a network of 27 public conservation areas and holds and monitors 75 conservation easements. Additional information about the Land Trust may be obtained at www.fllt.org or by calling (607) 275-9487.
]]>Contact: Andrew Zepp
607-275-9487
ITHACA, NY -- The Finger Lakes Land Trust announced today that it has acquired a 65-acre property featuring 1,400 feet of undeveloped shoreline on Cayuga Lake. The land is located in the Town of Romulus, Seneca County, and is situated across the lake from Wells College and the Village of Aurora. The property features frontage on both sides of the Cayuga Lake Scenic Byway and hosts a diversity of wildlife habitats including mature woodlands, meadows, and a rugged gorge.
The property was acquired from the Van Riper and Moran families who have owned the land for many years. They made the land available to the Land Trust for significantly less than its appraised fair market value. The organization was able to purchase the property through lead gifts from several anonymous individuals as well as a low-interest loan from the Norcross Wildlife Foundation.
A fundraising goal of $1.2 million has been set to cover acquisition costs as well as site improvements associated with the provision of public access, and a contribution to the Land Trust’s stewardship fund to support long-term management of the site. To date, the organization has secured $900,000 in gifts and pledges, including a grant of $400,000 from New York State’s Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation.
“The state has identified public access to waterfronts as a top priority for land acquisitions in the public interest,” says Tim Joseph, Regional Director for Finger Lakes State Parks. “We’re pleased that this grant is helping to preserve and protect a key piece of undeveloped shoreline on Cayuga Lake and will keep it open for the public to use and enjoy.”
The Van Riper/Moran tract had long been identified as a priority for protection since it borders the Land Trust’s existing Whitlock Nature Preserve. Together, the two properties encompass 1,900 feet of pristine shoreline. During the coming year, the Land Trust will develop a management plan for the two properties that will provide for appropriate public access while ensuring the protection of sensitive habitats. A parking area will be constructed alongside State Route 89 and a hiking trail will be developed at the site.
“This is a tremendous acquisition,” says Land Trust Executive Director Andrew Zepp. “Residents and visitors alike will soon have the opportunity to visit the shore of Cayuga Lake and see how it looked before settlement. There is very little undeveloped shoreline left and we’re grateful to the Van Riper and Moran families for deciding in favor of conservation rather than development in this case.”
This latest acquisition represents the Land Trust’s second shoreline protection project completed on Cayuga Lake during the past year. In early 2010, the organization accepted a conservation easement on 47 acres of woodland overlooking the Lake in the Town of Lansing. This property remains in private ownership but future development is limited by the perpetual easement agreement.
The Land Trust is also supporting efforts by the planning departments of Cayuga, Seneca, and Tompkins Counties to design and develop a “water trail” that will link conserved lands on the lakeshore as well as businesses that cater to kayakers and canoeists.
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The Finger Lakes Land Trust was established in 1989 to work cooperatively with landowners and local communities to conserve those lands that define the character of the Finger Lakes Region. The organization has protected more than 12,000 acres of open space through direct acquisition as well as the use of conservation easements on lands that typically remain in private ownership. Additional information on the Land Trust and its fundraising campaign for the Van Riper/ Moran acquisition may be obtained at www.fllt.org or by calling its Ithaca office at (607) 275-9487.
Contact: Russ Shay
Director of Public Policy
202-638-4725, ext. 305 | rshay@lta.org
WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Voluntary conservation of private land received a boost yesterday when President Obama mentioned the work of land trusts in his remarks introducing the landmark America’s Great Outdoors Report at a reception in the East Room of the White House. The collective voice of land trusts was reflected in the report, which proposes to extend the enhanced tax incentive for conservation easement donations beyond 2011, fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), and focus a portion of LWCF on innovative projects that support urban parks, community green spaces and large-scale land conservation.
Mr. Obama said that “at a time when America’s open spaces are controlled by a patchwork of groups, from government to land trusts to private citizens, it’s clear that conservation in the 21st century is going to take more than what we can do here in Washington…Meeting the new test of environmental stewardship means finding the best ideas at the grassroots level, it means helping states, communities and nonprofits protect their own resources, and it means figuring out how the federal government can be a better partner in those efforts.”
The report draws inspiration from hundreds of land trust participants at America’s Great Outdoors listening sessions around the country. “I am proud of the nation’s 1,700 land trusts for pioneering the voluntary conservation incentives and locally driven partnerships embraced in this report,” Land Trust Alliance President Rand Wentworth said. “This initiative will significantly reorient federal conservation efforts to emphasize working lands and to embrace local governments and land trusts as effective partners in conserving the places that give meaning to our lives.”
The report’s vision statement describes a future in which “Rural lands—our working farms, ranches and forests—are conserved and restored through local partnerships.” The president’s Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Request makes a down payment on that vision by providing $200 million for the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program and $900 million for the LWCF, some of which “will be competitively awarded to address priorities and leverage resources for urban parks and public-private conservation projects.”
In communities across America, nonprofit land trusts are working with private landowners to keep farm, ranch and forest lands in productive use, create community parks and open space, protect important fish and wildlife habitat, and conserve our scenic and historic heritage. With the help of more than 100,000 volunteers and 2 million members, land trusts have conserved more than 37 million acres, including more than 12 million acres protected by voluntary conservation agreements with private landowners.
The Land Trust Alliance is a national conservation group that works on behalf of America’s 1,700 land trusts to save the places people love by strengthening land conservation throughout America. The Alliance works to increase the pace and quality of conservation by advocating favorable tax policies, training land trusts in best practices and working to ensure the permanence of conservation in the face of continuing threats.
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Download a printable PDF (100KB).
]]>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katrina Farmer
Communications Associate
603-357-0600
KEENE, NH -- The New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program announced its most recent grant awards at a news conference in Concord Monday. The Monadnock Conservancy is one of 24 recipients statewide.
The up to $113,875 in funds that the Monadnock Conservancy is slated to receive will be used to secure a conservation easement on a working farm in Jaffrey. The conservation project will protect 126 acres — a mix of hayfields, wetlands, and forested lands — in a scenic area of town, near Mount Monadnock. The property owners, the Shattucks, want to see their family farm remain intact and not be subdivided.
According to LCHIP, this most recent grant round is expected to protect an additional 4,317 acres of land and 13 historic structures throughout the state. Prior grant funding to 187 projects has helped conserve nearly 286,000 acres of land and 109 historic structures and sites.
The Monadnock Conservancy has previously received funding from LCHIP for a conservation easement on Tippin Rock Farm in Swanzey; the state’s purchase of Temple Mountain in 2007; and easements on the Houghton Family Farm and Forecastle Timber properties in Chesterfield, both part of the extensive California Brook Natural Area stretching between Keene and Pisgah State Park.
Founded in 1989, the Monadnock Conservancy is the only land trust dedicated exclusively to the 35 towns of the Monadnock Region in southwestern New Hampshire. Its mission is to identify, promote and actively seek protection of significant natural, aesthetic and historic resources in the area; and to monitor and enforce the protection of lands in the trust. Based in Keene, N.H., the Conservancy has protected nearly 15,000 acres of forest, farmland, shoreline, wetlands, wildlife habitat and recreation trails in the Region. For more information, visit www.MonadnockConservancy.org.
Shattuck Farm, at the junction of Fitzwilliam and Great roads in Jaffrey, is slated to be protected by conservation easement with assistance from the NH Land and Community Heritage Investment Program. Photo courtesy of Monadnock Conservancy
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The Massachusetts Land Court dismissed a law suit against The Trustees of Reservations (MA) brought by a neighbor to enforce a conservation restriction (Massachusetts name for conservation easement). The Court entered a final judgment ruling that the neighbor had no standing to enforce the conservation restriction.
“This case required a large investment in time by our staff and outside legal counsel,” explained Chris Rodstrom, Director of the Conservation Restriction Program at The Trustees of Reservations, “but by prevailing we’re now in a stronger position to deal with any other abutters to our 340 conservation restrictions that attempt to unduly influence our stewardship program.”
This decision has limited precedential value because it is a judgment in the Trial Court; nonetheless, it still is useful for any land trust dealing with a neighbor that is threatening a lawsuit. It may also have some value in other lower courts especially coupled with the Tallman decision to show how other courts have dealt with the issue.
The owner of the conserved land granted the conservation restriction in 2008 to the Trustees. The restrictions provided for a building envelope, access and utilities on the 36 acre property in a spot where a home and barn had previously stood. A year later, the land owner proposed to dismantle an existing historic home it owned elsewhere in town and move it into the building envelope. The neighbors, Frank and Jean Granara, objected alleging that the access would have to be widened to accommodate moving the house and would disturb 978 feet of bordering vegetated wetlands. The access driveway abuts the rear boundary of the Granaras’ home on a small lot.
The Trustees had reviewed and approved the landowner plans as consistent with the purposes of the restrictions. The Granaras sued the landowner, Stetson Kindred of America, Inc. for violating the restrictions and the Trustees for failing to enforce the restritions. The Granaras claimed that they personally benefit from the restrictions on the Stetson property since it increases their property values and therefore they have the right to enforce the restrictions. The Trustees countered that the Granaras’ lacked standing to sue and to enforce the restrictions and that in any event the contemplated actions are consistent with the restrictions. On joint motion of the parties, the court considered two issues: whether Stetson’s activities violate the restrictions and whether the Granaras have standing to enforce the restrictions.
The court held for the Trustees on all counts finding that only named holders in the restrictions have any right to enforce them.
“It helped to have a good conservation restriction stewardship program in place,” added Chris Rodstrom, “since we could demonstrate to the judge that our approval of the building was carefully considered and well documented.”
Elizabeth Tallman filed a case, (Tallman v. Outhouse, et. al.) against her neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Outhouse, the owners of abutting property partially protected by a conservation easement, the Rockingham County Conservation District (conservation easement grantee) and the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests (executory interest holder in the conservation easement). Ms. Tallman claimed she had a third party right to enforce the easement, and that the Conservation District and the Forest Society were failing to enforce the terms. She also asserted a right of unfettered access to the protected property, which the Court rejected, upholding the landowners' right to post against and to control public access. Essentially, she sought a ruling that conservation easement prevented her neighbors from building their home on land not encumbered by the easement, and that the easement prevented access to the residence site. Elizabeth Tallman asked the Court to order that, among other things, the easement precluded the construction of the house and access to it, and that the conservation restrictions also extended to the excluded 1.23 acres as a result of an equitable servitude.
The neighbor’s legal positions required the easement holders to vigorously oppose the assertion that abutters have legal standing to interpret or enforce easements, or to restrict or utilize easement land for their personal goals. There were other related disputes at issue in the lawsuit, but the critical matter for the Forest Society, and for the land conservation community as a whole, was the whether abutters or other third parties can sue to enforce conservation easements granted to land trusts, municipalities and state agencies. The New Hampshire statute that authorizes conservation easements does not include an express statement that only the holders of a conservation easement have legal standing or a right to sue to enforce the easement.
This was essentially a dispute between neighbors that escalated to include both easement holders. One of the neighbors had very nice land subject to an existing conservation easement. The complaining abutter tried to use the easement as a sword for her personal purposes against the wishes, interpretation, and authority of the easement holders. Voluntary settlement attempts proved fruitless. The court ruled explicitly that New Hampshire recognizes no third party right of enforcement, and further that the Outhouses’ plan to build a house on the unrestricted portion of their land cannot be viewed in any way as a violation of the easement. The court also acknowledged that the Outhouse’s use of the historic access route that crossed a small potion of the easement land was not a violation of the easement.
The Court found for the defendants on all counts and also held that the easement did not require open access to the general public. This is what the Conservation District and Forest Society sought from the court and is a very good result for the NH land trust community.