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MET's Land Trust Assistance Program
Applications for Jan Hollmann Grants are now being accepted until March 31, 2010.
MET awards grants to local land trusts throughout Maryland to increase their
education and outreach activities in pursuit of conservation easement donations.
Download the application.
Applications may also be obtained from the Maryland Environmental Trust. Contact
Beki Howey at rhowey@dnr.state.md.us.
The Maryland Environmental Trust’s Local Land Trust Assistance Program helps citizen groups in forming and
operating local land trusts for the preservation of open space, farmland, woodland, and other natural and
historic areas. Funding is from the Coastal Zone Management Program within the Department of Natural
Resources. Land trusts are not-for-profit corporations designed to protect land from development, using
conservation easements, gifts or purchases of land, limited development, conservation buyers, or promotion
of existing local, state, or Federal easement programs. MET’s Land Trust Assistance Program offers land
trusts with cooperative agreements with MET the following technical assistance, training, funding and
cooperative land management services:
- TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE in starting a land trust, including organizing a board of directors,
drafting articles of incorporation and by-laws, filing for tax-exempt status, record keeping, establishing
conservation strategies and criteria, and other formation tasks;
- TRAINING for directors and staff in operating a land conservation organization and conducting
land protection transactions; including Maryland-wide and Mid Atlantic regional conferences;
- HOLDING CONSERVATION EASEMENTS JOINTLY with land trusts as Co-Grantee, allows
property owners who donate easements to both trusts to be eligible for all benefits available to MET donors;
land trusts would also receive monitoring and enforcement assistance for these easements from MET and
DNR’s Office of the Attorney General; the cooperative agreement necessary for co-holding with MET is also
a legal requirement for participation in Maryland’s Rural Legacy Program;
- JANICE HOLLMANN GRANT FUND - MET awards grants to local land trusts throughout Maryland
to increase their education and outreach activities in pursuit of conservation easement donations. These grants
may also be for operating expenses (such as staff, office expenses, and publications), landowner outreach,
land transaction costs, and other needs. Applications are accepted one time per fiscal year, when announced by the Local Land Trust Assistance Coordinator. Please contact us at 410-514-7900 for this year's application deadline.
- LAND TRUST GRANT FUND - The Land Trust Grant Fund (LTGF) was created by the Maryland
Legislature in 1990 to provide interest-free loans to help local land trusts purchase conservation lands and
easements. For example, in May 2000, the LTGF approved a loan of $250,000 to the Patuxent Tidewater Land
Trust (PTLT) to assist with the acquisition of the threatened 127-acre Summerseat Farm in Oakville, St.
Mary's County. PTLT is acting in partnership with Summerseat Sanctuary, Inc., a nonprofit animal welfare
organization that will take title to the property and manage it as a farm, in addition to running an animal
welfare center/veterinary clinic in a separate location on the property. The Sanctuary hopes to become an
important community resource, a place for school field trips and other educational programs.
- TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PUBLICATIONS, including MET’s Land Trust Assistance Manual,
standard easement processing forms, model easement documents, and an education video on conservation
easements for landowners. In addition, land trusts are eligible to participate in the Maryland Land Trust
Alliance, an informal association of national, state, regional and local land conservation organizations
working in Maryland
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