Will Rogers, longtime American cowboy and philosopher once said, “Buy land. They ain’t making any more of the stuff.” People laughed at him but he really understood the value of land and had vision. Now, in this 21st Century, land is a valuable commodity and the opportunities for accessing land are diminishing as the face of our state and our communities change.
Why is saving land for the public important? Recently Parenting Magazine had an article that cited the 10 most favored places to locate, especially for those with young children. The article featured interviews with residents to ascertain why they had moved to their community of choice and by far, one of the top two draw cards were parks, playgrounds, greenways, bike paths and other similar amenities.
With shrinking state and local budgets attempting to foster these types of amenities often becomes difficult and we need to look for creative solutions. On Friday, Oct. 22, the Maine Recreation and Park Association and the University of Maine at Presque Isle will play host to a variety of educational sessions one of which will be presented by Wolfe Tone, the Maine state director for the Trust For Public Lands. The session is designed to help public officials, private land owners and planners develop a better understanding of land trusts and how they can be used as an effective took in developing partnerships to ensure livable communities for generations to come.
The Trust for Public Lands is a national, nonprofit land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, community gardens, historic sites, rural lands, and other natural places. Tone has been with the Trust for Public Lands for nine years. Before returning to New England with his family and joining TPL’s Maine team as project director in 2004 he worked for TPL’s Ohio office, often in close partnership with local and county park departments helping them achieve their trail and open space objectives. He combines experience in conservation real estate with a passion and understanding of the value of connecting people with the land by preserving access to our natural environment and protecting our working farms, open spaces and greenways.
Anyone interested in attending this session or reviewing the conference agenda can log onto www.merpa.org or contact Kathy Mazzuchelli at the Caribou Parks and Recreation Department at 493-4224.
