THE FAIRFIELD COUNTY REGIONAL CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP 4/18/2014 DRAFT STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN

THE FAIRFIELD COUNTY REGIONAL CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP 4/18/2014 DRAFT STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN

The Fairfield County Regional Conservation Partnership DRAFT STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction.. 1 Executive Summary. 3 DRAFT Strategic Plan 2014 2019.. 5 Goal: Strengthen Partners.. 5 Objective: Increase the number of members for each partner land trust. 5 Strategy: Build awareness about the role of land trusts and Conservation Commissions in preserving the community s quality of life 5 Strategy: Conduct a public education campaign... 6 Strategy: Educate partners on how to run an effective membership program... 7 Strategy: Members use press releases and stories in local and regional media to communicate their own and collaborative efforts. 8 Page i

Objective: Increase funding through grants and donations.. 9 Strategy: Obtain FCRCP grants to help pay for partners outreach and education activity.. 9 Strategy: Have FCRCP Coordinator assist partners in grant writing.. 10 Strategy: Strengthen methods for raising private capital for local land trusts... 11..Objective: Increase staffing and training for partner land trusts.. 12 Strategy: Explore options for sharing staff between 2-3 land trusts in sub-regions. 12 Objective: Increase the number of land trusts that are accredited.. 13 Strategy: Work with the Land Trust Alliance to line up resources for partner LTs that want to prepare for accreditation 13 Objective: Empower Conservation Commissions (CCs). 14 Strategy: FCRCP convenes CCs to aid in their networking and in their identifying issues and opportunities for greater coordination and collaboration.. 14 Goal: Increase the Pace and Scale of Land Protection and Connectivity 15 Objective: Increase numbers of landowners interested in conserving their land 15 Strategy: Educate landowners in key focus areas about their conservation options... 15 Strategy: Educate municipal officials about the preservation of open space 16 Objective: Increase lands protected across municipal and state boundaries.. 17 Strategy: FCRCP s sub-regional initiatives convene partners to focus on conservation across town and state lines... 17 Objective: Increase protected lands adjacent to other protected lands 18 Strategy: FCRCP promotes landscape ecology, watershed conservation, and trails to land trusts and municipalities... 18 Page ii

Objective: Increase capital for acquisitions 20 Strategy: Use Forest Legacy, local private capital campaigns, municipal bonding and foundation grants.. 20 Objective: Increase number of donated lands and easements. 21 Strategy: Create a multi-year publicity campaign for donating land and easements in and out of focus areas.. 21 Strategy: Funding due diligence costs and zero-cost easements 21 Strategy: Promote municipal adoption of natural resource protection zoning... 22 Goal: Increase the Quality of Land Stewardship 23 Objective: More land managed so natural and cultural resources are sustained or enhanced across the region. 23 Strategy: FCRCP promotes forest management that sustains breeding bird populations and water/watershed planning by highlighting and implementing watershed action plans. 23 Strategy: FCRCP educates a variety of landowners about wildlife networks, plants in the region, bird populations, ground water, etc. 24 Strategy: FCRCP promotes linking and maintaining recreational trails region-wide.. 25

The Fairfield County Regional Conservation Partnership DRAFT STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN INTRODUCTION The Fairfield County Regional Conservation Partnership (FCRCP) is a voluntary association of 28 conservation land trusts, Conservation Commissions and other like-minded organizations in a 23-town area in southwestern CT. Since 2008, the FCRCP has provided the opportunity to support the efficacy of its partners through collaborative sharing and learning. As the partnership grew, so did the desire to reach beyond ideas to collective action across boundaries as an answer to regional environmental challenges. The FCRCP Strategic Plan seeks to fulfill the vision of a protected, connected, and restored regional landscape by working together rather than in isolation. By virtue of Fairfield County s geographical setting, our partnership serves as a pioneer in large landscape conservation in urban and suburban landscapes. Large landscape conservation and stewardship provide key benefits to society beyond conventional projects completed one property at a time and without regional outcomes in mind. These values include clean and ample water supplies, healthy fish and wildlife populations, flood and erosion control, storm protection, recreation and tourism, quality of life and employment. The FCRCP advances more coordinated land protection and stewardship activities in Fairfield County as part of a new movement of 40 Regional Conservation Partnerships (RCPs) in New England that are also focused on increasing the pace of land protection in part by providing more opportunities for landowners to conserve and steward their lands. Many of these partnerships are focused, like us, on Page 1

advancing conservation so that, by 2060, 70 percent of New England will be permanently protected from development, thus achieving the Wildlands and Woodlands Vision-- calls to action in 2005and 2010 that led to the formation of the FCRCP and many other RCPs throughout New England. As members of the FCRCP, we learn about new conservation practices, we identify strategically important areas to protect from development, we help landowners learn about the value of their land, and we build our capacities to do more. This collaborative team spirit is perhaps most apparent among the FCRCP Steering Committee, who served as a catalyst for the FCRCP Strategic Plan, and who will be instrumental in guiding its implementation. Steering Committee, Fairfield County Regional Conservation Partnership Richard Chiaramonte Robert Eckenrode David Havens Bill Kraekel Bill Labich Mary Ellen Lemay Donna Merrill John O Neil Ben Oko Stamford Land Conservation Trust Newtown Forest Association Norwalk River Watershed Association Aspetuck Land Trust Highstead, FCRCP Co-Coordinator Trumbull Conservation Commission Wilton Conservation Commission and Wilton Land Conservation Trust, FCRCP Co-Coordinator The Bethel Land Trust Ridgefield Conservation Commission *For a full list of the FCRCP Partners, go to the back cover or to our website (www.fcrcp.net). Page 2

The Fairfield County Regional Conservation Partnership DRAFT STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Fairfield County Regional Conservation Partnership (FCRCP) became aware of the need for a deeper set of conversations among members (and for a plan!). Specifically, we needed to answer the following questions: What actions did we wish to take in partnership? Which of these are most important? Which may require funding and/or assistance to be successful? Beginning in March 2013, our nine-member Steering Committee embarked on a journey to answer these important questions. Monthly Steering Committee meetings, two full Partnership meetings and on-line surveys captured the concerns, ideas, and priorities of members from over 20 organizations and agencies. Completed in June 2014, our Strategic Plan has three goals, 21 strategies and 53 actions to pursue over the next five years. This, in turn, led to our new Vision and Mission Statement. Our Vision: A protected, connected, and restored regional landscape of woodlands, wildlands, farmlands, and wetlands across and beyond Fairfield County that support thriving communities who celebrate the land and what they have created together. The Mission: Be the adaptive and effective network where people representing organizations, businesses and government agencies collaborate to protect, connect and restore the natural landscape of the greater Fairfield County region. We collaborate to: Protect more land from development for people, plants and animals. Connect wooded and open lands, wetlands, and watersheds to produce more value than the sum of the parts, including longer trails, bigger habitats, cleaner water, and fewer storm impacts.

Restore to bring open, undeveloped land back to a state of health in order to enhance its value to people, plants, and animals. The Strategic Plan is intended to be a dynamic plan, revisited periodically, with information added as it is discussed and agreed to. The Steering Committee may pursue projects warranting early action in order to help partners efforts on other strategies, e.g., developing a county-wide strategic conservation map to guide cross-border landowner education and other investments. To jumpstart our efforts in advancing our vision, we have chosen the top one third most widely supported strategies to focus our energies: Strengthen Partners Build awareness about the role of land trusts and Conservation Commissions in preserving the community s quality of life. Strengthen methods for raising private capital for local land trusts. Increase the Pace and Scale of Land Protection and Connectivity Educate municipal officials about the preservation of open space. Advance sub-regional initiatives to convene partners to focus on conservation across town and state lines. Promote landscape ecology, watershed conservation, and trails to land trusts and municipalities. Increase the Quality of Land Stewardship Promote forest management that sustains breeding bird populations and water/watershed planning in part by highlighting and implementing watershed action plans. Educate a variety of landowners about wildlife networks, plants in the region, bird populations, ground water, etc. Convene Conservation Commissions to aid in their networking and their identifying of issues and opportunities for greater coordination and collaboration. Page 4

DRAFT Strategic Plan 2014-2019 Goal A. Strengthen Partners (Land Trusts (LTs) & Conservation Commissions (CCs)) Objective: A1. Increase the number of members for each partner land trust. Strategy: A1-1. Build awareness about role of land trusts and Conservation Commissions in preserving a community s quality of life. 1. Train FCRCP members in how to engage landowners in woods forums, conduct focused outreach to landowners and to inform them about the land trusts and Conservation Commissions in their area (what they do, and what they (landowners) can do to conserve or steward their land). Ridgefield Conservation Commission Stamford Land Conservation Trust, Newtown Forest Association, Wilton Land Conservation Trust Aspetuck Land Trust Greenwich Land Trust Wilton Conservation Commission Redding Land Trust 2014-2017 Yale Student Interns in first half of 2014; Potential Summer Intern; H2HCI USFS funding would support this initiative. Page 5

Strategy: A1-2. Conduct a public education campaign 1. Supply 'copy' so groups can produce a document to increase their own visibility (form a working group, or do it as a collective) 2. Develop a brochure for use as an outreach document. Newtown Forest Association Greenwich Land Trust Brookfield Open Space Legacy, Inc 3. Build a Like your local LT Facebook page. 4. Organize a regional communications working group to facilitate an outreach campaign (incl. researching media and key messages that could be adapted for each organization). 5. Develop messages/activities to attract kids (and parents) and participate in community events (Scouting and schools) Bethel Land Trust Wilton Conservation Land Trust Greenwich Land Trust Page 6

Strategy: A1-3. Educate partners on how to run an effective membership program. 1. Train FCRCP members in creating successful membership programs New Canaan Land Conservation Trust, Inc. Wilton Land Conservation Trust 2. Develop communications to attract younger members busy with families/professions and different interests. Land Conservancy of Ridgefield Greenwich Land Trust 3. Poll interested younger members on what topics are of interest. 4. Figure out how to create an 'aura' around land trusts. 5. Conduct peer-to-peer (land trusts) educational opportunities in this area Aspetuck Land Trust Page 7

Strategy: A1-4. Members use press releases and stories in local and regional media to communicate their own and collaborative efforts. 1. Do an online blog on "Good Morning (town)" websites that includes drawing the public to land trust websites. Wilton Conservation Commission Newtown Forest Association 2. Reach out to other organizations (e.g. wildlife orphanage of Fairfield County, New Pond Farm, CT Audubon, Chambers of Commerce, local libraries, nonenvironmental groups, etc.) Ridgefield Conservation Commission Page 8

Objective: A2. Increase funding through grants and donations. Strategy: A2-1. Obtain FCRCP grants to help pay for partners outreach and education activity. The Fairfield County Regional Conservation Partnership 1. FCRCP members apply together for funding from federal and private sources. 2. Have a working group research and compile information on relevant grants. Aspetuck Land Trust Bethel Land Trust Bethel Land Trust Greenwich Land Trust 2014 - USFS Redesign Grant Page 9

Strategy: A2-2. Have FCRCP Coordinator assist partners in grant writing. 1. Develop a process to initiate grant proposals (e.g. to implement specific actions in this plan or others). This could include: 1) Land Trust (LT) or Conservation Commission (CC) has a project; 2) Finds a relevant grant with FCRCP help; 3) Writes a brief proposal to FCRCP that is voted on by whole group or by Steering Committee; 4) LT or CC gets FCRCP assistance. Land Conservancy of Ridgefield Stamford Land Trust Land Trust of Danbury Page 10

Strategy: A2-3. Strengthen methods for raising private capital for local land trusts. The Fairfield County Regional Conservation Partnership 1. Work to get corporations to the table. 2. Develop a short PowerPoint presentation to potential donors that quickly grabs their attention 3. Examine grant opportunities for open space parcels Bethel Land Trust New Canaan Land Conservation Trust, Inc., Land Trust of Danbury Aspetuck Land Trust Greenwich Land Trust Redding Land Trust Page 11

Objective: A3. Increase staffing and training for partner land trusts. Strategy: A3-1. Explore options for sharing staff between 2-3 land trusts in sub-regions. 1. Understand the Northern Fairfield County Coalition's "circuit rider" program and how it might be applied to benefit member land trusts in other parts of the region. Land Conservancy of Ridgefield, Inc., Stamford Land Conservation Trust Greenwich Land Trust 2. Share Dave Haven's Norwalk River Watershed Association model which entails groups' volunteers and staff collaborating on stewardship projects. Ridgefield Conservation Commission Bethel Land Trust Norwalk River Watershed Association Page 12

Objective: A4. Increase number of land trusts that are accredited. Strategy: A4-1. Work with the Land Trust Alliance to line up resources for partner LTs that want to prepare for accreditation. 1. Acquire funding to assist FCRCP member Land Trusts in their efforts to become accredited Land Conservancy of Ridgefield, Inc., Page 13

Objective: A5. Empower Conservation Commissions (CCs) Strategy: A5-1. FCRCP Convenes CCs to aid in their networking and in their identifying issues and opportunities for greater coordination and collaboration. 1. Convene Conservation Commissions (CCs) as their own group (to aid in their networking and in identifying issues and opportunities for coordination and collaboration)., Wilton Conservation Commission Newtown Forest Association Ridgefield Conservation Commission Redding Land Trust 2. Bring in trainer(s) to educate CC members so they better understand their legal mandates as a commission. 3. Teach CCs on holding public education sessions to aid in getting science to the "person on the street." 4. Obtain guidance to aid CCs in writing Low Impact Development regulations for consideration by town Planning and Zoning commissions and writing and advising on conservation items for town Plans of Conservation and Development. Wilton Conservation Commission 5. Aid in inventorying natural resources. CT DEEP Division of Forestry Page 14

Goal B. Increase Pace and Scale of Land Protection and Connectivity Objective: B1. Increase numbers of landowners interested in conserving their land. Strategy: B1-1 Educate landowners in key focus areas about their conservation options. 1. Develop a strategic regional conservation map with focus areas for all of Fairfield County (like we already have for the 10-town northern FCRCP sub-region). Land Conservancy of Ridgefield Land Trust of Danbury Aspetuck Land Trust Greenwich Land Trust Audubon CT Redding Land Trust 2. Combine with other landowner outreach efforts (e.g. use of Yale's and the US Forest Service's "Tools for Engaging Landowners Effectively") to zero in on those that already have an interest and help them conserve their land. Ridgefield Conservation Commission Audubon CT Redding Land Trust 3. Develop additional landowner databases for the focus areas of member groups Page 15

Strategy: B1-2. Educate municipal officials about the preservation of open space. 1. Attend Land Use Leadership Alliance (LULA) training sessions and the LTA Rally in Providence in 2014. Bethel Land Trust 2. Bring in corporate partners to help speak to the economic benefits of open space. Stamford Land Trust Audubon CT 3. Reach out to municipal boards and commissions to inform them about the benefits of conservation. Trust for Public Land New Canaan Land Conservation Trust, Inc. Ridgefield Conservation Commission Bethel Land Trust Wilton Land Conservation Trust Audubon CT Page 16

Objective: B2. Increase lands protected across municipal and state boundaries. Strategy: B2-1. FCRCP s sub-regional initiatives convene partners to focus on conservation across town and state lines. 1. Present conservation focus areas to local P&Z organizations, educating them on connectivity, negative impacts of sprawl, etc. Land Trust of Danbury Wilton Conservation Commission 2. Make science and economic research more accessible to towns and the public by working with outreach efforts and creating a simple science language protocol. Trust for Public Land Stamford Land Conservation Trust Ridgefield Conservation Commission Newtown Forest Association Land Trust of Danbury Greenwich Land Trust Wilton Conservation Commission 3. Draw in groups from surrounding regions: Litchfield Hills, Westchester County and others so that we are not working in a box. 4. Poll/Survey public support for land conservation Trust for Public Land Land Conservancy of Ridgefield Page 17

Objective: B3. Increase protected lands adjacent to other protected lands. Strategy: B3-1. FCRCP promotes landscape ecology, watershed conservation, and trails to land trusts and municipalities. 1. FCRCP partners get people out on the land (e.g. walking) to inform them of the connections between open space and clean water Bethel Land Trust Wilton Land Conservation Trust Greenwich Land Trust Audubon CT Wilton Conservation Commission 2. Train volunteers (youth too) in "keeping track" wildlife tracking program, especially with residents living in conservation focus areas Bethel Land Trust, Wilton Land Conservation Trust Norwalk River Watershed Association 3. Prepare a PowerPoint presentation like "Changing nature of CT" (FCRCP members agree on setting one clear message) on landscape ecology and watershed conservation tailored to our region. Ridgefield Conservation Commission Bethel Land Trust Wilton Land Conservation Trust Aspetuck Land Trust Norwalk River Watershed Association Page 18

The Fairfield County Regional Conservation Partnership 4. FCRCP members develop educational products on rain gardens and low impact development to be used region-wide. Bethel Land Trust Wilton Land Conservation Trust 5. Develop a clear message and presentation on topics of interest like "why should you consider donating your land to the land trust or town." Use model for all of Fairfield County Bethel Land Trust Wilton Land Conservation Trust Aspetuck Land Trust Greenwich Land Trust Redding Land Trust Page 19

Objective: B4. Increase capital for acquisitions. Strategy: B4-1. Use Forest Legacy, local private capital campaigns, municipal bonding and foundation grants 1. Produce a series of trainings on conservation finance for member groups. Trust for Public Land New Canaan Land Conservation Trust, Inc. Aspetuck Land Trust Greenwich Land Trust 2. Participate with the CT Land Conservation Council in lobbying at the statehouse to ensure continued funding for open space. Trust for Public Land Page 20

Objective: B5. Increase number of donated lands and easements. Strategy: B5-1. Create a multi-year publicity campaign for donating land and easements in and out of focus areas 1. Use woods forums and peer-to-peer landowner activities to identify clusters of landowners most interested in donating land or easements in each conservation focus area. Stamford Land Conservation Trust Bethel Land Trust Wilton Land Conservation Trust Redding Conservation Commission Greenwich Land Trust Redding Land Trust 2014 - Yale Interns in 2014 Strategy: B5-2. Funding due diligence costs and zero-cost easements 1. Raise private and public funds to pay due diligence costs associated with one or more conservation projects that involve donated lands or interests within a focus area. Bethel Land Trust Land Trust of Danbury Page 21

Strategy: B5-3. Promote municipal adoption of natural resource protection zoning. 1. Organize an educational program for FCRCP members on innovative approaches to zoning and subdivision regulations that conserve open space while providing for development with high amenity values. Wilton Conservation Commission Redding Land Trust 2. Get involved in bringing about a regional approach to local open space planning in municipal Plans of Conservation and Development (POCDs) Wilton Land Conservation Trust Bethel Land Trust Wilton Conservation Commission Page 22

Goal C. Increased Quality of Land Stewardship Objective: C1. More land managed so natural and cultural resources are sustained or enhanced across the region Strategy: C1-1. FCRCP promotes forest management that sustains breeding bird populations and water/watershed planning in part by highlighting and implementing watershed action plans. 1. Incorporate recommendations from watershed action plans in FCRCP action steps (communicating with Aquarion, TNC, Norwalk River Watershed Association, etc.). Newtown Forest Association Stamford Land Conservation Trust Land Conservancy of Ridgefield Norwalk River Watershed Association Aspetuck Land Trust Norwalk River Watershed Association Wilton Conservation Commission Page 23

Strategy: C1-2. FCRCP educates a range of landowners about wildlife networks, plants in the region, bird populations, ground water, etc. 1. FCRCP partners work with existing wildlife/bird conservation programs (Yale, CT DEEP, Audubon). Newtown Forest Association Norwalk River Watershed Association Wilton Land Conservation Trust The Bethel Land Trust Land Conservancy of Ridgefield Ridgefield Conservation Commission CT DEEP Division of Forestry Greenwich Land Trust Audubon CT Redding Land Trust 2. Write or promote articles in local papers about land management/maintenance. Newtown Forest Association Norwalk River Watershed Association Wilton Land Conservation Trust New Canaan Land Conservation Trust, Inc. Greenwich Land Trust 3. Blog on these topics in "Good Morning " online news. Norwalk River Watershed Association Stamford Land Conservation Trust Page 24

Strategy: C1-3. FCRCP promotes linking and maintaining recreational trails region-wide. 1. Organize an event focusing on Fairfield County Trails that would include various activities such as...a) Norwalk River Watershed Association's bi-annual bird count with Audubon; b) Hike, bicycle, and kayak in ways that connect the trails across the county; c) Link land trust land through a hike; d) Trails that explore animal paths, etc. Newtown Forest Association Norwalk River Watershed Association The Bethel Land Trust Wilton Land Conservation Trust New Canaan Land Conservation Trust, Inc. Aspetuck Land Trust Wilton Conservation Commission Redding Land Trust Page 25

FCRCP Member Organizations Aspetuck Land Trust Audubon CT Brookfield Conservation Commission Brookfield Open Space Legacy, Inc. Darien Land Trust Greenwich Land Trust Highstead Housatonic Valley Association Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials Land Conservancy of Ridgefield New Canaan Land Conservation Trust, Inc. Newtown Forest Association Norwalk Land Trust Norwalk River Watershed Association Redding Conservation Commission Redding Land Trust Ridgefield Conservation Commission Shelton Conservation Commission Shelton Land Conservation Trust Stamford Land Conservation Trust The Bethel Land Trust The Land Trust of Danbury The Monroe Land Trust and Tree Conservancy The Nature Conservancy CT Chapter Trumbull Conservation Commission Trust for Public Land Wilton Conservation Commission Wilton Land Conservation Trust Page 1