ANNUAL REPORT FY 2012

Transcription

1 ANNUAL REPORT FY 2012 Continuing Our Mission: To conserve, promote, and protect the open spaces and green places of ecological, cultural, or scenic significance in the counties of the Mississippi Coastal Plain.

2 FROM OUR LEADERS The Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain (LTMCP) added 1,041 acres to the lands under permanent conservation in 2012, including treasured properties in five of the six coastal counties served by LTMCP. This was a tremendous year, and brings the total for protected lands to over 5,000 acres, in the dozen years since our land trust was founded. When numbers get that big, it is difficult to imagine them in a size that is meaningful to us, so it is easier to provide a visual comparison than to explain that five thousand acres equals eight square miles. Instead, imagine: five thousand acres is one-third the size of Manhattan. Five thousand acres is bigger than Mississippi State s campus (4,200 acres), twice the size of Ole Miss campus (2,500 acres), and LSU s campus (2,000 acres). It would hold more than 31 of the original Disneyland Parks, and ten of the current resorts. If it was all put together, that tract could house 50 Mall of the Americas. A tract that large could hold 20,000 houses, each on a quarter-acre lot. This is exactly the pressure of development upon many of the acres we hold the race to convert more and more land, much of it unsuitable, to the development of places to shop, work, and live. We need those services, it is true; but we cannot forget the reasons we live in this unique place, and we cannot replace the landscape of south Mississippi once it is lost. The Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain works with landowners to conserve special places in perpetuity. We work with trusted partners and local, state, and federal agencies with the goal of protecting the places of wildness and beauty that benefit residents and visitors to coastal Mississippi: abundant seafood, rich timberlands, pristine water, and unsurpassed recreational activities. Our goal for the coming year is to continue the momentum, and conserve even more lands in perpetuity, ensuring the places you care about remain in their native and pristine condition. We have new leaders for this effort, who are looking forward to the challenge. Please consider the places which are special to you, and then join us as we work to preserve the scenic, cultural, and ecological significance for those who will inherit the legacy we establish today. Allison H. Anderson AIA, LEED-AP unabridged Architecture PLLC Jon Bond O Neal Bond Engineering, Inc. Board President Board President we cannot replace the landscape of South Mississippi once it is lost.

3 REVENUE (1) Land or easement donations, except for $113,000 endowment contribution (2) Includes investment and rental income EXPENSES Where the Money Goes $171,772 35% $48,188 10% $43,074 9% $26,429 5% Contract services Grant expenditures Office expenses (1) Other operating expenses $44,009 9% Property maintenance & insurance (2) Salaries $39,967 8% $102,008 20% $18,547 4% Taxes, depreciation, interest Transfer to other entities (3) (1) Rent, expense reimbursement, legal and accounting, miscellaneous office expense (2) Includes land management (3) Property transfers to MS Secretary of State and MS Department of Marine Resources Source for Revenue & Expenses: 2012 Independent Auditor s Report available, with 2012 IRS 990 filing, at the Land Trust office

4 A MAJOR 2012 ACCOMPLISHMENT FOREST LEGACY Mississippi s First Forest Legacy Program Conservation Easement For more information about the MS Forest Legacy Program, visit Progress: Over 5,000 Acres Protected In September 2012, the Mississippi Forestry Commission (MFC) in partnership with LTMCP acquired Mississippi s FIRST conservation easement under the Forest Legacy Program. The Forestry Legacy Program is a USDA Forest Service program in partnership with MFC that supports local efforts to protect environmentally sensitive, privately-owned forest lands threatened by conversion to non-forest use through both land acquisition and conservation easements. This conservation easement acquisition culminated a three year effort to protect 518 acres on the Escatawpa River, a MS designated Scenic Stewardship Stream Acquisitions Pfeiffer Property Jackson County Conservation Easement Donation of 50 acres Highway 603 Property Hancock County Donation of acres Pfeiffer-Jackson County

5 Morton Property Pearl River County Conservation Easement Donation Of acres Big Cedar Creek Mitigation Bank George County Conservation Easement Donation Of 484 acres Morton Pearl River County Halstead Road Property Jackson County Purchase of.45 acres Old Fort Bayou Mitigation Bank Jackson County Conservation Easement Donation Of acres Halstead Road-Jackson County Oswald Property Jackson County Donation of.95 acres Blue Skies Property Harrison County Donation of acres Oswald-Jackson County For a list and description of each of our properties, please visit our website at

6 2012 SUPPORTERS Donors of Land and Conservation Easements Big Cedar Creek Mitigation Bank, LLC Blue Skies, LLC Hancock County Land, LLC Micmar, LLC Walter B. Morton & Margie T. Morton Robert H. Oswald Ralph B. Pfeiffer, Jr. Betty Scheffler Davy Scheffler Gary D. Scheffler The Nature Conservancy Lifetime Members Jesse & Janet Adcock John & Allison Anderson Rob Barber Margaret Bretz Fay Browne Phyllis Cosentino Bruce & Alice Duckett Bob Fairbank Joe Jewel T. Mitchell Kalom John Lambert Sam & Ann LaRosa Steve Lawler Maria Mavar Peter & Dita McCarthy Julie Moore Walter Morton, Sr. Martha Murphy Nell Murray Julia O Neal William Perret Thomas & Patricia Spinks Sandy & Judy Steckler Merry Thomson Jan Walker Jim & Terri Wyly Donors John & Laura Bowie David Cobb Phyllis Cosentino Fanwood Foundation George Craig Photography Holden Earth Moving Co. HOSSFLY Joe Jewel Mr. & Mrs. M.O. Lawrence Rita Paoletti Mark Peterson MS Power Foundation Ken P Pool Gerald Rooney Sherry Rosso Craig Skates South MS Electric Power Association Camille Tate Julia Weaver Corporate Partners Biloxi Bay Chamber of Commerce Bradford O Keefe Butch Oustalet, Inc. Chevron Dupont Hancock Bank Holden Earth Moving & Construction Mississippi Power Company Natural Capital Development O Neal Bond Engineering South MS Electric Power Association The Peoples Bank W.G. Yates & Sons Join or Donate today online at

7 VOLUNTEERS Thank you to the many volunteers who supported our conservation efforts through general cleanup, trail building, replanting and monitoring! We could not do it without you! University of Western Ontario Mississippi Habitat Stewards United Way Alternative Spring Break Clean Our Scene Weston High School Massachusetts US Navy SeaBees Stephen F. Austin University MA. Snowbirds Jon Gottsche & Shelley Parker Gulf Coast Audubon Society For more information on becoming a volunteer visit our website at

8 CURRENT BOARD OF DIRECTORS Melanie Allen* Beth Ashley* Jon Bond* Russell Evans Lisa Eveleigh* Peggy Hoover Steve Lawler M.O Lawrence* Johnny Marquez Allen Reed Flowers White* Left to Right: Peggy Hoover, Allen Reed, Russell Evans, Beth Ashley (back), Melanie Allen, Johnny Marquez, Lisa Eveleigh, Flowers White, Alice Duckett *2012 Board 2013 OFFICERS President Jon Bond Vice President Melanie Allen Treasurer Flowers White Secretary Alice Duckett LTMCP archives of IRS Form 990 and other financial documents can be viewed upon request at the address below. FEIN# Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain 955-A Howard Avenue Biloxi, MS Judy Steckler, Executive Director Connie Thrift, Operations Manager Tim Blocker, Land Manager