Knight's Pond is truly special to all of us at the accredited Chebeague and Cumberland Land Trust. It features a 46-acre pond, hilly terrain, hiking trails, valuable wildlife habitat and a view of Casco Bay in the distance.

With the Olympic Winter Games in full swing, it's hard not to think about our changing climate.

As much as I wish it wasn't the case, abusive syndicated easement transactions remain a huge concern for the Land Trust Alliance and our entire community. But there is good news!

When I was asked to join the team that was charged with shaping the new strategic plan for the Alliance, I enthusiastically accepted. Who could pass up the opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way to a process that would help set the future course of an organization, and movement, for which I care deeply?

We envision a reenergized, more relevant conservation movement in which land trusts join with partners that have not traditionally identified as conservation organizations around our shared interest in protecting special places.

This week, the Trump administration released its 2019 budget proposal, "Efficient, Effective and Accountable: An American Budget." The plan, which reflects the administration’s priorities, outlines deep cuts to land conservation programs.

Enacting change can be hard. As creatures of habit, we prefer the familiar to the unknown. Less work to more. But when we are joined by others who share our values, change is possible. And I believe we — as a community — have the power to usher in a new era for private land conservation.

Members of the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts hosted the first Walk the Land Day on June 24, 2017, promoting it as a day to explore, discover, celebrate and fall in love with Oregon lands that are protected forever.

To ensure our member land trusts do not intentionally or inadvertently participate in abusive syndicated easement transactions, the Land Trust Alliance is publishing today a revised Tax Shelter Advisory. All land trusts should become familiar with the document.

The monarch butterfly and its spectacular 3,000-mile migration — from Mexico, throughout the American Midwest, to Canada — is in great jeopardy.

Northern Pass’s application to build a controversial 192-mile transmission line from Pittsburg to Deerfield in New Hampshire has been rejected.

The Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act (H.R. 4459) is great news for land trusts nationwide and a welcome respite from partisan divide in Washington. And from our perspective as a land trust in Colorado, this act bolsters the legal foundation of our main conservation tool and reassures our supporters, easement holders and community of the unwavering integrity with which we operate.