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.
Make plans now to track challenges that you may need to report on your Terrafirma membership confirmation next year. Remember, you do not need to report challenges if there is no damage to the property, nominal volunteer or staff time was needed to address the challenge, and you incurred no out of pocket expenses. To help you keep track of the different types of challenges, please see the definitions below.
Challenge
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Definition
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Violation
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includes prohibited structures and uses, excessive recreational activity (such as all-terrain vehicles), surface alteration, timber harvest, and dumping, violation of a management plan and anything else that explicitly violates the stated terms of a conservation easement
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Trespass
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includes actions by third parties (neighbors, developers, government and so forth) such as vegetation removal, structural encroachment, fences, topography change and so forth.
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Litigation Notice
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when you receive written notice that a lawsuit has been filed against the land trust
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Verbal or Other Threat of Violation or Trespass
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includes threats to violate the conservation easement or trespass on fee land or conservation easement
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Disregard of Easement Obligation
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this is a catch all section for when a legal challenge does not fit into any other category for example transfer of water rights on paper to a holding company that technically disregards the no severance provision of the conservation easement but functionally retains the water rights in the same ownership
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Mediation or Arbitration Notice
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when you receive written notice of mediation or arbitration action
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Adverse Claim of Legal Right
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including adverse possession, contest by heir, boundary challenge, etc.
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We’re here to help! If you have any questions about filing claims or anything else, please let us know. Email us at
or call 202-800-2219 for Lorri or 802-262-6051 for Leslie.
What do a healthy risk management program and an informed and involved board have in common? They are both integral to the success of risk management because they determine the direction of the organization. If your board and senior leadership work together to plan for contingencies ahead of time – when heads are cool and time is on your side – you can avoid crises that could put you out of business.
Board members can also log on FREE to the Nonprofit Risk Management Center as affiliates of the Land Trust Alliance. See directions »
We’re here to help! If you have any questions about updating your policy, baselines or anything else, please let us know. You can reply to this email, email us directly or call 202-800-2219 for Lorri or 802-262-6051 for Leslie.
For many land trusts, budget season is here for 2014, so you may want to start planning for next year’s Terrafirma premium payment. Next year’s payment will be due no later than February 3, 2014. Since your registration fee is already paid, your next payment will only be for the annual premium. To refresh your memory, the base premium before any discounts is $60 per property. Accredited land trusts automatically receive an $11 discount. Discounts are also available for land trusts that meet certain good practices. Check the Terms and Conditions for more details or call or write to me.
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We’re here to help! If you have any questions about premiums or anything else, please let us know. You can reply to this email, email us directly or call 202-800-2219 for Lorri or 802-262-6051 for Leslie (please note, Leslie is on vacation and will be back in the office on August 5).
Saving land exposes your land trust to risk, but not all risk is bad. You can advance your mission while taking smart risks.
Please join us for a half-day seminar, Savvy Risk Taking and Prevention, at Rally in New Orleans from September 17-19 to help you plan your way through the unknown. Participants will discuss risk management with a member of the Trout Unlimited risk management committee and with senior leadership from the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. You'll also receive a full copy of the Land Trust Alliance’s new Risk Management Curriculum book.
The cost for the seminar is $90 for land trust members and $105 for all others. This course qualifies for the Terrafirma risk management discount for 2014. Please note that you must renew risk management credits every year to qualify for the discount.
Be sure to register for the seminar and for Rally before August 26 when registration closes. I hope to see you there. Register today »
Can’t make it to Rally this year? Terrafirma will host two, free one-hour risk management webinars in November (webinar also satisfies risk management credit). Registration will open in the fall.
We’re here to help! If you have any questions about risk management classes or anything else, please let us know. You can reply to this email, email us directly or call 202-800-2219 for Lorri or 802-262-6051 for Leslie.