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Property
Management
Sound Property Management practices are critical to the protection
and maintenance of land that we hold in trust for the public good.
We must monitor the physical status of our land or wetland parcels
to insure that the purposes of the donor, as indicated in the deed
or contract, are being honored. We must also monitor to insure that
our property rights are not being violated by unauthorized uses.
Finally, property management fulfills a moral obligation to maintain
our property in a natural state and prevent degradation.
FULFILLMENT
Our ability
to meet property management objectives depends on volunteer Tract
Stewards who are the cornerstone of our program. Each steward is
responsible for for visiting the property several times per year.
While activities vary considerably depending on the type and location
of the property, typical responsibilities include:
• Identifying
inappropriate use. This could include activities such as camping,
vandalism, dumping, building, setting fires, hunting and motorized
vehicles.
• Identifying
encroachment problems such as neighbors, horses or stray animals,
boundaries or malicious trespass issues such as cutting wood or
stealing stones from walls. Watching for safety hazards or hazardous
materials.
• Assessing
actual property use and visitation to the extent possible. Determining
additional needs such as signs, boundary or other markers and
access issues.
• Biological
and ecological monitoring. The Tract Steward should, to the best
of their ability, monitor the parcel for maintenance in it's natural
state or according to the donor's wishes stated in the deed. Checking
for erosion, siltation, over-browsing, non-native or invasive
species. Identifying, if possible, any rare or threatened plants,
birds or animals.
• Providing
tract and trail maintenance if the property has a trail. Take
out litter. Checking status of trails with regard to erosion and
keep paths clear for hiking. Checking trail markers. Determining
if there are maintenance issues that would require a scheduled
work party.
In addition
to our Tract Steward program, Work Parties
are scheduled to accomplish property management goals where larger
efforts are needed. These are publicized elsewhere in the web site
and in the Newsletter.
If you are interested
in assisting in our efforts,please contact the Land Trust. We look
forward to hearing from you!
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