Land Trusts & Conservation Groups
Land Trust Outreach
The Maine Natural Areas Program (MNAP) and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) work closely with land trusts to conserve high value habitat in Maine by integrating important natural resource information into on-going land trust planning and protection efforts.
MNAP and MDIFW have developed a system that uses multiple sources of information to identify landscape-scale ecologically significant areas. These areas are called “focus areas” and typically include rare species, species assemblages, and other natural features that are considered significant on a statewide basis. Focus area selection criteria [PDF] [HTML] were developed to aid in the selection of sites. For each focus area, Focus Area Descriptions and maps are created and presented to the appropriate land trust(s). To date, focus areas have been selected for the southern, mid-coast, and downeast areas.
Landowner Incentive Program (LIP)
Recent funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Landowner Incentive Program (LIP) has been awarded to MNAP and MDIFW to establish a LIP in Maine. The LIP will help conserve habitat on private land to benefit rare plant and animal species by providing technical and financial assistance to landowners for habitat protection and restoration. Fifteen areas across Maine have been selected as pilot sites for conservation efforts.
For more detailed information about Maine's Landowner Incentive Program: MNAP LIP page
For more detailed information about the national LIP or pilot sites, visit the U.S. Dept. of the Interior web site.
