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.
When filing a claim with Terrafirma, timing is crucial. For example, say that you are performing annual monitoring and see that the neighbor is encroaching onto easement property. You would flag it on the monitoring report, then the next step would be to file a claim with Terrafirma. It can take years for an issue to escalate to the point that it requires legal intervention. If you waited until then to notify Terrafirma, the claim would likely be denied because it was not filed in time.
In order for a claim to be eligible for coverage, it must be filed with Terrafirma within the policy year that you or anyone else at the land trust first became aware of the issue. The policy year is not the same as the calendar year – it runs from March 1 of the start of the policy year to March 1 of the next year, plus a 60 day window for filing claims. Filing a claim is quick, easy, and does not affect the cost of your premium. See our handy infographic here for more tips on when to file.
Have questions? Please let us know. You can email us directly or call 202-800-2219 for Lorri, 802-262-6051 for Leslie, or 202-800-2248 for myself.
Thanks,
Hannah
Hannah Flake
Conservation Defense Associate
ALLIANCE RISK MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC
(202) 800-2248 | 
Hungry for more TerraBites? Check out our LinkedIn
|
P.S. Will you be attending Rally on October 11-13? Seminars 6 and 15 and Workshops A01, A13, B01, B09, D02 and F06 qualify for the Terrafirma Risk Management discount. Remember to sign in on the Terrafirma attendance sheet to make sure you get credit!
A recent win in court for Three Valley Conservation Trust (Ohio) could help land trusts in other states as we all work together to uphold conservation permanence.
The case involved two siblings, James and Janis Taylor, who sold a conservation easement on their family farm to Three Valley Conservation Trust. The easement prevented any division of the farm. However, when Janis wanted James to buy her out, James asked the court to let him divide the property despite the restrictions, and the judge sided with him.
Three Valley Conservation Trust successfully appealed the decision with the help of Terrafirma, the Land Trust Alliance, Coalition of Ohio Land Trusts and American Farmland Trust. On appeal, the court sided with the land trust and Janis, stating that restricting division of the property is consistent with current law.
This is a great example of land trusts and their allies working together and it is an important decision with national ramifications. Read more about the case here.
We’re here to help! If you have any questions about divisions or anything else, please let us know. You can email us directly or call 202-800-2219 for Lorri, 202-800-2248 for Hannah, or 802-262-6051 for Leslie.
Thanks,
Hannah
Hannah Flake
Conservation Defense Associate
ALLIANCE RISK MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC
(202) 800-2248 | 
|
Hungry for more TerraBites? Check out our LinkedIn
Internal financial controls are crucial not just to comply with laws and regulations, but to protect your land trust from fraud and embezzlement, which has become shockingly common at nonprofits. That’s why, when you send in your payment to Terrafirma, it takes a while for the payment to post to your account. The finance gurus at Terrafirma are taking a number of precautionary steps when processing Terrafirma payments each year, including:
- Keeping a log of all checks that come in
- Having a second person sign the log to confirm that she saw all the checks
- Stamping all checks with “For deposit only” before they leave the office
- Writing up a deposit slip to prove the total before taking the checks to the bank
- Keeping a scanned copy of the deposit slip and all checks being deposited
- Segregating check handling duties among 4 different people with substantial oversight
- Crediting your payment only after all internal controls have been satisfied
Does your land trust have sufficient controls in place? Find an internal control evaluation checklist here to help you evaluate your system and protect your land trust.
Hannah Flake
Conservation Defense Coordinator
ALLIANCE RISK MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC
(202) 800-2248 | 
We have updated our database to increase security and make communications more reliable.
You only need one password now! Your Land Trust Alliance password for accessing The Learning Center or signing up for Rally works for Terrafirma as well.
If you enter your e-mail address for an existing Terrafirma account, it will e-mail you your password, and if you do not yet have a Terrafirma login, it will prompt you to create one at: https://terrafirma.org/site/get_started
If you cannot log in, please contact us at and we’ll help you get set up.
You might need approval from site administrators for security purposes – so please don’t wait until the last minute!
Once you are in your account, please remember to notify Terrafirma about any potential issues that were discovered during the 2017 policy period which remain unresolved.
Thanks!
Hannah
Hannah Flake
Conservation Defense Coordinator
(202) 800-2248 | 
P.S. Wondering what you can do for the Risk Management Discount?
- The next webinar will be on January 23 – see the full list here
|
Our quick and easy online course can be taken at any time