The Montgomery County Green Futures program is in its fourth year of offering a multifaceted approach to training and education for local municipal officials and their advisors. This dynamic series of workshops has reached over 1,000 people throughout the county, offering in-depth analyses of land conservation issues in a variety of venues. In creating an energizing and fun environment for the exchange of ideas, Green Futures provides local leaders with the open space tools to deliver what the citizens of Montgomery County want: enhanced quality of life through land conservation and greener communities.

Click here to see the 2009 Green Futures Achievement Award Winners

Green Futures is generously supported by the William Penn Foundation and Montgomery County. Additional support comes from Exelon Nuclear – Limerick Generating Station and Univest National Bank & Trust. Collaborative partners include Natural Lands Trust, Montgomery County Planning Commission, and Partners for Land Preservation.

Montgomery County Lands Trust is pleased to announce that it is seeking accreditation through the nationally recognized land trust accreditation program. This program recognizes organizations that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. A public comment period is now open for Montgomery County Lands Trust.

The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance, conducts an extensive review of each applicant’s policies and programs. For Montgomery County Lands Trust, having accreditation will add yet another layer of professionalism to the land conservation work that we do and will further assure landowners and other key stakeholders that we abide by strict national guidelines and conform to procedures and rules that ensure our organization is ethically and fiscally responsible. Click here for details and to comment.

The recharged Montgomery County Open Space program – Green Fields/Green Towns has energized planning in Montgomery County communities. This ten-year, $150 million program was approved by the Montgomery County citizens in November 2003. The Green Fields/Green Towns Program is made up of three basic components: municipal grants ($67 million), private organization grants ($8 million), and county open space expenditures ($75 million).

The program established an allocation of funding for each municipality in Montgomery County based on population. As of November, 2009 all of Montgomery County’s 62 municipalities have submitted grant applications for open space projects tailored to the unique needs of their communities. Click here to see how your municipality participated in Green Field/Green Towns.

Montgomery County Lands Trust is working with land owners and local officials to identify effective ways to protect the Swamp Creek watershed – a 55.4 mile area in Western Montgomery County and Southeastern Berks. This link will take you to the extensive Swamp Creek Riparian Corridor Conservation Plan . MCLT’s new brochure, Protect and Preserve the Swamp Creek Greenway , provides compelling information, resources, and practical tips for caring for this valuable watershed. To obtain a free print copy, please make your request on our contact page .

Pennsylvania rests on one of the largest gas deposits in the world. The Marcellus shale formation could hold enough recoverable gas to fuel the nation’s needs for 13 years. What’s not to like? What Pennsylvanians need to know is that natural gas extraction could impose heavy costs on our communities: air pollution; pipelines, drilling pads and wastewater pits scarring our landscapes; heavy rigs damaging our roads; billions of gallons of water taken from our streams; and operational errors contaminating our land and water. Extraction can be done in a way to reduce this impact and tax revenues from natural gas extraction can and should go toward protecting our environment.  

Let’s not miss an historic opportunity to ensure that our descendants receive a natural wealth equal to our own. As the push for natural gas drilling and extraction intensifies, let’s take the time to invest in our communities so they can prosper --both during extraction activities and after the gas is gone. For more information and to see policy proposals related to natural gas drilling, visit landandwater.org.

One of the most effective ways we increase the pace of land conservation, is through federal and state tax incentives that help landowners choose conservation over development. Find out how some land owners donating conservation easements this year can benefit from the current federal tax incentive. Important note: Unless Congress acts, the enhanced federal tax deduction for conservation easement donations will expire December 31, 2009! Now more than ever, we need your help spreading the word to landowners and federal legislators to make this powerful conservation tool permanent. Find out more about this issue through information provided by the Land Trust Alliance.

Learn about important natural resources and key conservation landscapes identified in our county through Montgomery County Planning Commission’s Natural Areas Inventory study
completed in 2007. To gain an overview of the study, you can view a narrated power point presentation.

Interested in preserving a piece of your land? The Trust can help you ensure that your land is protected, now and in the future. The Trust can help you design a conservation easement that fulfills your wishes for the future of your land. If the conservation easement is donated to the Trust, the Trust will monitor your easement yearly and ensure that the land remains as you wish. For more information, see our Landowner Conservation Options brochure, and our Conservation Easement Fact Sheet.

Don’t write off farming in Montgomery County just yet. Check out these impressive farm figures collected from a recent growing season.

Montgomery County Lands Trust thanks the generous corporations, municipalities, and foundations in our region who provided valuable support in 2008.

• New for 2009! Protect and Preserve the Swamp Creek Greenway provides compelling information, resources, and a call to action for the valuable Swamp Creek watershed – a 55.4 square-mile area of special focus for Montgomery County Lands Trust in Western Montgomery County and Southeastern Berks County.
• Buy the Best, Zone the Rest: Building a Green Future presents an
  overview of conservation choices available to municipalities, nonprofits
  and the citizens of Montgomery County.
• Landowner Conservation Options incorporates stories from landowners working with us to preserve their land and outlines the assortment of preservation techniques available to any landowner newly considering preservation.
• Open Space Success Stories is a 36-page booklet highlighting the
  wide array of innovative projects emerging from Montgomery County’s
  first open space program.

To obtain a free print copy of any of these booklets, please make your request on our contact page. And while you’re at it, become a member. Joining is a great way to make a difference.

Montgomery County Lands Trust partners with groups throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania such as GreenSpace Alliance to implement strategies that keep our region vibrant, encourage smart growth, and protect our valuable natural assets. Click here to access the Regional Open Space Priorities Report produced by the
Green Space Alliance of Southeastern Pennsylvania. To see conservation plans for some of the important resources in Montgomery County, visit our Working Together page.