Kachemak Heritage Land Trust was pleased to take the lead in organizing the first statewide meeting of Alaskan land trusts. Thirty representatives from KHLT, Great Land Trust (Anchorage), Interior Land Trust (Fairbanks), and Southeast Alaska Land Trust (Juneau) participated in this two-day session in Anchorage. Marc Smiley, a well-known facilitator from Oregon, applied his background in land and resource conservation and organizational development to pull this new group together to efficiently share information and experiences pertinent to Alaska.

Our first day meeting topics included conversation about the nature, message, and value of a coalition of Alaskan land trusts and how we might better promote the benefits of our work statewide. We learned more about the new Taxpayer Relief Act and about the Land Trust Alliance's services from LTA Northwest Assistant Director Liz Bell. We discussed common statewide issues such as the rapidly spreading spruce bark beetle infestation and wetland mitigation. The importance of developing clear organizational policies and procedures that relate directly to the LTA Standards and Practices was made clear.

Day two was dedicated to conservation easements. Together we worked through an "easement from hell" to find hidden pitfalls and potential problems. Topics covered within this activity included initial landowner contact, actual easement drafting, the importance of good stewardship and accurate baseline documentation, careful monitoring, and the enforcement of conservation easement restrictions. The four Alaskan land trusts will plan another meeting for next year. It is critical for us to work together to ensure a high quality of professionalism in our work across this vast state. We are proud to have taken the first steps toward building a coalition permanently preserving significant land in Alaska. KHLT is grateful to the Land Trust Alliance Northwest, the Wilburforce Foundation, the Alaska Conservation Foundation and The Nature Conservancy of Alaska for financial assistance to make this important meeting possible.

Marc Smiley leads a discussion on statewide land trust issues.