MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • Apirl 19, 2026
The Maine Land Conservation Conference, the largest annual meeting of its kind in the state, is an opportunity for organizations to share tools, strengthen partnerships and explore emerging challenges. It also highlights one of Maine’s greatest conservation strengths: a network of more than 80 land trusts working in collaboration to benefit lands, waters, people and wildlife. This network represents the highest number of land trusts per capita of any state. It not only reflects Maine’s strong conservation ethic, but also its distinctly local approach to stewardship. Land trusts are shifting from organizations that serve the environment to organizations that serve both the environment and people. At a time when many people feel disempowered about decisions affecting their future, community-led stewardship and taking care of the land offer hope and an opportunity to help people feel more connected — to nature, to one another and to their future. ~ Angela Twitchell, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, and Matt Markot, Loon Echo Land Trust