TerraBites
A short newsletter of bite-size ideas to chew on for Terrafirma owner-member land trusts, released January, February, May, June, September, October and November.
Stewardship volunteers and staff are responsible for upholding lasting conservation. That is a big job.
Terrafirma wanted to share some resources and ideas to assist you:
- Be sure that all of your stewardship staff and volunteers sign up for TerraBites if they haven’t already. It is free.
- You might consider including procedures to timely file Terrafirma claims in your land trust’s stewardship policies, as well as quarterly claim updates.
- Your stewardship team might devote time in their meetings to Terrafirma claims matters.
- Your stewardship volunteers and staff should watch Terrafirma’s “Timely Claim Filing” video.
- Check out the Land Trust Alliance’s Practical Pointer Series, which has practical tips to help land trusts navigate the risks associated with stewardship administration and conundrums.
We’re here to help! If you have any questions, please let us know.
Thanks,
Tom Kester
Operations Manager and Secretary
Alliance Risk Management Services LLC
Manager for Terrafirma Risk Retention Group LLC
P.S., did you know our partners at the Nonprofit Risk Management Center have created a website to help nonprofit organizations manage the HR and risk issues they face? The website, https://www.risk-resources.org, includes more than 75 factsheets, infographics, worksheets, and templates that nonprofit organizations can view and download.
The pandemic presents unprecedented challenges for monitoring and enforcement. Terrafirma takes these special circumstances into account so that you can focus on staying safe. Please document any deviations from standard procedures and anything that might affect your eligibility requirements for Terrafirma this year.
We highly recommend that you read Conservation Stewardship in the Time of COVID-19 on the Land Trust Alliance Learning Center for tips on proceeding with essential work while managing risk.
Most importantly for your Terrafirma coverage, remember to file a claim for any issues discovered during the 2019 policy period (March 1, 2019 to March 1, 2020) by April 30, 2020. The grace period end date of April 30 never changes, so you can add a recurring calendar item for each year so you don’t forget!
Have questions? Please let us know. You can email us directly or call 802-262-6051 for Leslie, or 202-800-2248 for myself.
Thanks,
Hannah
Conservation Defense Coordinator
ALLIANCE RISK MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC
(202) 800-2248 | 
When was the last time your organization reviewed your stewardship policy? If it was pre-Terrafirma, it may be time to take another look.
Your policy likely describes how stewardship reserves are set, and it may advise landowners that the funds will be segregated and used only for monitoring and enforcement, not for daily operations of the land trust.
If you have Terrafirma coverage, you might consider adding language that makes it clear if:
- Reserves may include a contribution of premium for the Terrafirma policy as part of the initial funding
- Some of the stewardship funds will be used to pay for Terrafirma policies covering not only easements, but the land trust’s own fee properties
Have questions about policy drafting or anything else? Please let us know. You can email us directly or call 802-262-6051 for Leslie, or 202-800-2248 for myself.
