Brooklin 
About Us
A History of Blue Hill Heritage Trust
prepared by James W. Dow
The Blue Hill Heritage Trust was founded in 1985 by a group of local residents who were looking for a way to counter the increasing development pressures that were threatening to alter the character of the Blue Hill peninsula, epitomized by a condominium proposal on Peter's Cove in Blue Hill. They were assisted by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, which was experienced in helping the formation of local land trusts. The organization was incorporated under the laws of the state of Maine in 1985 as a membership-funded organization and received 501(c)(3) status from the internal Revenue Service the same year. Its first president was Jean Nickerson.
During its early years the Trust relied solely on donations of land or conservations easements to accomplish its mission. Board members, with the assistance of Maine Coast Heritage Trust staff, developed the land protection projects and volunteers attended to the stewardship and conservation easement monitoring responsibilities. The first parcel of land acquired by the Trust was a 13-acre tract in Penobscot on Toddy Pond, donated by Jerrold and Diana Hinckley in August 1986. The first conservation easement held by the Trust was donated by Lucy Chamberlain in September 1986 and covered a 17-acre shorefront parcel on Herrick Bay in Brooklin.
In 1992 the Trust undertook its first capital fundraising campaign, under the leadership of its second President, Ellen Werner, to fund the purchase of a 19-acre parcel on the western slope of Blue Hill Mountain that was the proposed site for a residential development project. This $300,000 campaign was successfully completed in 1993. In 1997, under the leadership of Board President Lorenzo Mitchell, the Trust took another significant step forward by undertaking its second capital campaign, this one for $235,000 to acquire land around Fourth Pond in Blue Hill. This campaign was based on a clear decision by the Trust's Board of Directors that land acquisition was a necessary and increasingly important land protection tool; previously conservation easements were considered the primary and preferred tool. This decision thus represented an important shift in the way the Trust approached its work.
In 1998 a tract of land on that included the summit of Blue Hill Mountain was bequeathed to the Trust by Louise Frederick in 1998 and became the highest-visibility property protected by the Trust. This property also became the focus of much of the Trust's stewardship activities. Through trail work parties and extensive trail improvements, the Trust worked to strengthen public support not only for this property but also for land conservation in general.
In 1999, buoyed by the successful conclusion of the Fourth Pond campaign the previous year, the Trust ambitiously commenced a $1.6 million multi-facetted capital campaign, known as the Peninsula 2000 Campaign, again under Lorenzo Mitchell's leadership. This campaign focused on the conservation of farmland, Caterpillar Hill and a variety of other lands, as well as building the organization's endowment.
That same year the Trust was awarded the Land Heritage Award by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, which is given annually to an organization or individual in recognition of outstanding leadership and accomplishment in land conservation in Maine. This award came with special recognition of the Trust's work in local farmland conservation. 1999 also marked the beginning of the Trust's "Walks and Talks" program, a series of outdoor educational outreach events centered on conservation lands and natural history. Along with a newsletter published twice a year, this series helped form a deeper connection between the Trust and its members, supporters and the general public.
The successful completion of the Peninsula 2000 capital campaign at the end of 2001, capped with the purchase of the Cooper Farm property on Caterpillar Hill, was another major milestone in the organization's development, Because the campaign was at the time one of the largest ever undertaken by a local land trust in the State of Maine, it brought the Trust further recognition as one of the state's Maine's leading local land trusts.
The successful completion of the Peninsula 2000 capital campaign at the end of 2001, capped with the purchase of the Cooper Farm property on Caterpillar Hill, was another major milestone in the organization's development, Because the campaign was at the time one of the largest ever undertaken by a local land trust in the State of Maine, it brought the Trust further recognition as one of the state's Maine's leading local land trusts.
In 2005, the 20th anniversary of its founding, the Trust took another step forward in its organizational development by purchasing a highly visible, attractive and historic property in Blue Hill, known as the William Carleton House, as a permanent home for the organization. Financed by a bank loan secured by a mortgage and some targeted fundraising, this purchase fulfilled a strategic goal, ending a series of office moves between rental spaces while reflecting the permanent nature of our work. After some preliminary renovations were completed, the Trust moved its offices to the William Carleton House in July.
In 2008, after the completion of a feasibility study by an outside consultant, the Trust commenced its fourth capital campaign, called "Uncommon Places, Shared Spaces", a multi-million dollar campaign intended to fund new land projects as well as to build its operating and stewardship endowment funds. After a fast start, the progress of this campaign was severely slowed by the international economic crisis that took hold in the fall of 2008, but as of October 2009 the campaign was continuing with a revised strategy and timeframe.
In early 2009 a new strategic conservation plan was completed for the Trust by Janet McMahon, a highly regarded ecologist and conservation planner. This planning document identifies a series of "focus areas" that include intact landscape features worthy of future protection and is intended to help guide its future land conservation work. In 2009, the Trust also completed a full organizational assessment and began preparation for applying for accreditation by the national Land Trust Accreditation Commission.
As of October, 2009, including lands protected with funds from its Uncommon Places, Shared Spaces campaign, the Trust had protected 5359 acres of land in its service area, including 2137 acres in 40 parcels of conservation land owned by the Trust and 3222 acres in 64 parcels protected by 50 conservation easements held by the Trust.
Initially the Trust relied totally on volunteers, especially Board members, to conduct its business. This changed in 1995 with the hiring of Pat Watson as a part-time administrative staff person. This position gradually grew into a full-time administrative director position, which Pat held until the end of 2000. At that time, based on the Board's decision that the Trust had reached the point in its development where professional staff was necessary, the Trust conducted a nation-wide search for an experienced land conservation professional to serve as its first Executive Director. This search led to the hiring of Jim Dow, a Blue Hill resident, a long-time employee of The Nature Conservancy and a former Blue Hill Heritage Trust Board member. Dow began on May 1, 2001. A part-time administrative assistant position that was created in 2000 during the capital campaign was continued following Dow's hiring. This became a full-time administrative assistant/stewardship coordinator position in early 2002 but later that year was separated into two part-time positions. Although the stewardship position became a full-time position for a few years thereafter, in 2009 it was again part-time. As of October, 2009, the Trust's staff included a full-time Executive Director (Jim Dow), a part-time Membership/Administrative Coordinator (Sheila Corbett) and a part-time Stewardship Coordinator (Charlotte Clews Lawther).
With the addition of paid staff, the role of the Board gradually shifted from active participation in all the details of the Trust's day to day work to a primary focus on governance of the organization. In 2002 the committee structure became more formalized and Board meetings shifted from every month to every other month. As of its 24th Annual Membership Meeting in September 2009, the Board included 14 members with diverse skills and backgrounds and with representatives from each of the six towns in the Trust's service areas, led by Board President John Merrifield, the ninth person to serve as president since the Trust's founding in 1985. (The previous presidents in chronological order: Jean Nickerson, Ellen [Walker] Werner, Ellen Best, Peter Clapp, Lorenzo Mitchell, Alison Dibble, Ben Emory and Pam Johnson.)
(Last updated 10-2-09)
