Stowe Land Trust

Stewardship ProgramIn FY19, the Canadian Friends of Stowe Land Trust granted $20,000 to Stowe Land Trust to support public access and recreation improvements at Brownsville-Story Ridge Forest. In FY22, SLT paid $3,014 to Stowe Trails Partnership out of this grant for trail improvements, including bridge replacement and the construction of a new connector trail on the conserved property. The remaining balance of $14,660 will be spent on upcoming recreation projects at Brownsville Forest in partnership with the State of Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation. In FY22, Stowe Land Trust recruited volunteers to deconstruct the old Howard Carroll Memorial bridge at Wiessner Woods. SLT contracted with Timber and Stone, LLC to rebuild the bridge and used general operating funds to pay for the project which totaled $6,912.Other non-routine stewardship tasks undertaken by Stowe Land Trust during FY22 and paid for using general operating funds included ten hours of volunteer group labor removing invasive barberry plants from Cady Hill Forest and 16 volunteer group hours pruning ski trails at Kirchner Woods. SLT installed trail counters at two Ambassador Properties, Wiessner Woods and Kirchner Woods, at a total cost of $500. The land trust also spent $1,737 on providing trail maps and guides produced by a local printer for Ambassador Properties DuMont Meadow, Wiessner Woods, Kirchner Woods, and the Mill Trail Property. Education & Outreach ProgramAfter two years of reduced and modified programming due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Stowe Land Trust returned to a regular season of public programing in FY22, hosting 29 outreach, education, and volunteer programs for the community. These programs connected nearly 700 participants with the benefits of conserved land and conservation practices, and were undertaken with a variety of community partners, including the Stowe Conservation Commission, Stowe Trails Partnership, the Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife, the Current Center for Contemporary Art, Stowe Elementary School, Mountain River School, and many more local schools, businesses, and organizations. In addition to public educational and recreational programs, SLT worked with its dedicated corps of volunteers on the ongoing care and stewardship of its protected properties. These efforts included hosting volunteer workdays with groups like the Laraway School, Stowe Rotary, and Stowe Community Church.SLT also expanded its longstanding partnership with the Vermont Housing and Conservation Boards AmeriCorps Program in FY22 to host a full term (11-month) service member for fiscal year 2023. This growth reflects a significant evolution from SLTs previous AmeriCorps partnerships, which were centered on direct field naturalist programs. The 2022-2023 service member will focus on building deep programmatic partnerships with local public schools and started in early FY23. In FY22, Stowe Land Trust completed updating our visual and verbal brand identity, which included an evolution of our logo, to help further our goal of engaging a broader and more diverse audience. SLT worked with Place Creative, a Burlington-based branding firm, on this multi-year project. The remaining balance of $5,056 from a grant awarded to SLT in FY17 from the Land Trust Alliance assisted in completing the project. Land Protection Projects Over the span of FY21 and FY22, Stowe Land Trust partnered with farmer, Ken Ricketson, and the Vermont Land Trust to conserve one of Stowes few remaining farms: the 217-acre Ricketson Farm. In FY22 Stowe Land Trust raised the remaining $680,185 needed to cover the $2.5 million acquisition, project, and stewardship endowment costs. $1,150,000 was disbursed to Vermont Land Trust for the acquisition of a conservation easement on March 17, 2022. $22,500 was allocated to Stowe Land Trusts Temporarily Restricted Easement Stewardship Fund for Stewardship Endowment purposes. $23,209 is to be spent in FY23 on FY22 financial audit costs and strategic planning work. The remaining project balance of $20,026 was allocated to the Temporarily Restricted Land Acquisition Fund to be used for future land protection projects. Stowe Land Trust continued to work on strategic planning and landowner outreach with the Shutesville Hill Wildlife Corridor initiative in FY22. The Nature Conservancy released $2,000 to Stowe Land Trust from their funds received through a High Meadows Fund Grant for Stowe Land Trust staff time spent coordinating conservation efforts within the internationally important wildlife corridor.GeneralStowe Land Trust received $1,600 from the Land Trust Alliance for fundraising and communication consulting and leadership coaching work with Judy Anderson Consulting, $1,181 of which was spent in FY22, with the remaining balance of $418 spent in early FY23