Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts

CONTACT:

3239 Main Street, P.O. Box 443
Barnstable, MA 02630
508-362-2565
www.compact.cape.com

Mark Robinson, Executive Director

DESCRIPTION:

The American conservation movement began in Massachusetts a century and a half ago, with the work of Henry David Thoreau. Today, New England has the most mature regional private philanthropic conservation infrastructure in the country, with nearly half of the nation's land trusts located here (elsewhere State and federal governments own almost all of the protected land).

Land trusts are usually tiny organizations, with few dollars, relying on volunteer help; they preserve land from development, but only rarely manage it for conservation of its distinctive natural features and creatures.

The Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts is a model solution to that problem. Formed in 1986 to provide technical services to 6 land trusts, it now serves 16 land trusts, 2 national animal welfare groups and 2 watershed associations -- a total of 20 other institutions, providing them with help and advice in non-profit management, fundraising, legal and tax matters, and general operations.

Working together, they have accomplished a great deal. In 1992 they created a Cape Cod Land Fund to provide timely loans for land acquisition; 11 loans totalling $290,350 have helped protect 150 acres worth $2.5 million. In 1993-4 they contacted 4,500 landowners and held 7 workshops to teach the value of wetlands; 400 acres were protected as a result. In 1995 they launched a Pathways Project to link walking trails from one end of the Cape to the other; 50 miles of trails have been dedicated. A Biodiversity Project has mapped the distribution of key species and studied their habitat needs, to guide future land acquisitions.

Cape Cod is under heavier development pressure than any other part of the Commonwealth. Let's all help.

(1997: NATURE: Environment: Land, Air, Water, Climate)