Spring 2008

8th Annual Wisconsin Land Trust Staff Retreat

Gathering Waters Conservancy invites you to attend the Annual Retreat for Land Trusts on June 5-7 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Staff and board members of Wisconsin land trusts are encouraged to come and network, touch base, and help us strategize our ongoing efforts to serve you. This year’s topics include innovative outreach ideas, a conversation about challenges in conservation easement management, a board orientation session and a closed-door conversation with DNR administrators about what new access and hunting rules mean for Stewardship Fund applicants.

This year's retreat features a special outreach session:

Building Community & Deepening Community Connections through Questing
Valley Quest is an award-winning program that uses treasure hunts to discover and celebrate special places and their stories. To make a Quest, a group adopts a site and collaboratively learns about it through field work, research and oral history. Learning is shared by developing and publishing the Quest, which initiates future visitors to hidden stories and special places. This session introduces the Questing process, and takes participants through the process of developing a Quest by visiting a Mississippi Valley Conservancy property. See how this example of the Quest concept represents a compelling approach for land trusts to engage their community.

Instructor: Steven Glazer directs the award-winning Valley Quest program.  Co-author of Questing: a Guide to Creating Community Treasure Hunts, he has helped more than 150 school, community and conservation groups study and share their natural and cultural treasures.

Registration & Fees
To encourage participation by all of Wisconsin’s land trusts– no matter how large or small – Gathering Waters is offering the 2008 Land Trust Retreat at no cost to the participants.  However, if you would like to contribute to the workshop costs, please include a check made out to Gathering Waters Conservancy with your registration form.

Registration Deadline: May 23, 2008

Workshop details and registration forms are available at www.gatheringwaters.org/retreat.

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Is Accreditation Right for Your Organization?
Reprinted from Land Trust Accreditation Commission website

The Land Trust Accreditation Commission awards the accreditation seal to community institutions that meet national quality standards for protecting important natural places and working lands forever. Applicants for accreditation must demonstrate compliance with all of the accreditation indicator practices.

Use the following checklist as a guide to see if your organization is eligible and ready to apply for accreditation at this time.

Are the following statements true for your land trust?

• We are committed to continuous improvement and building a strong land trust.
• We are committed to the long-term stewardship of land and/or conservation easements.
• We are committed to upholding the credibility of the land trust community.

Is your organization eligible?

• Is your land trust a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization?
• Has it been incorporated for at least two years?
• Is your organization focused on acquiring and/or stewarding conservation land or conservation easements?
• Have you completed two direct land or easement acquisition projects? (In a direct land or easement acquisition project the applicant organization is included in the chain of title on a fee parcel or is the grantee of a conservation easement.)

If your land trust does not meet these criteria, it is not eligible for accreditation at this time.

Does your organization adhere to best practices?

• Have you adopted Land Trust Standards and Practices (2004)?
• Has your organization conducted an assessment against the full Land Trust Standards and Practices within the last three years?

If your land trust has not adopted Land Trusts Standards and Practices or done an assessment, please visit the Land Trust Alliance for information. These are required for accreditation.

Do you think your organization is ready to apply?

• Are you implementing the indicator practices ?
  Accredited land trusts must carry out each of the accreditation indicator practices. Conducting an assessment against Land Trust Standards and Practices is a helpful way to evaluate implementation and plan accordingly. Reviewing the application for accreditation is also a good way to assess implementation.
• Do you have the necessary documentation?
  Accreditation applications must provide evidence that the land trust is carrying out each of the indicator practices. If your organization recently adopted new policies, your application must include evidence that the policies are being implemented. The Commission will also look at the paper trail for land projects to see if transactions are screened against criteria and are carefully planned and to determine if stewardship obligations are met.
• Can you show how your organization approves land transactions?
  Do you have evidence of how land transactions are approved in your organization? Can you provide the information your board receives before it makes a decision to acquire land or conservation easements? If a committee of the board or another entity makes the decision, can you show what authority was delegated, the information provided to the decision-makers and the information provided to full board?
• If you hold conservation easements, do you have baseline documentation (or current condition) reports for all and do you monitor them annually?
  Applicants must have baseline documentation reports for every conservation easement they hold. They must demonstrate a pattern of monitoring each easement annually. If this is a new practice, the Commission will look for a minimum of two consecutive years of annual monitoring records to show compliance.
• If you own land in fee, do you have management plans or written guidance for each property and do you inspect your properties regularly?
  Applicants must have written management plans or written guidance for each property they hold in fee. They must be able to show that these properties are inspected regularly – on a schedule that is appropriate for the use of the property and resources protected.

Is this the right time?

• Do you have a team of people who can make the time to complete the application? (Applicant teams in the pilot program averaged over 200 hours of total volunteer and staff time.
• Can you schedule a time when your land trust is not involved in a complex land transaction or other event or activity for the team to focus on the application?

Test Yourself!

• Read the 2007 application for accreditation and accompanying Applicant Handbook thoroughly to see if your organization is ready to apply.

If your land trust is not yet able to answer 'yes' to the questions above or to complete the application for accreditation, visit the Land Trust Alliance for resources and training that may be available to help you prepare for accreditation.

For more information, contact the Commission at 518-587-3143 or info[at]landtrustaccreditation.org.

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Top 5 Tips for Preparing Your Application
Reprinted from Land Trust Accreditation Commission Fact Sheet

Lessons learned from the 2007 pilot program:

1. Form a Winning Team
Accreditation is both an independent verification process and a way for your organization to engage in continual improvement. Improvement will occur through broadbased participation that fosters dialogue, planning and cooperative decision-making that continues after the accreditation application is completed. To gain these longterm benefits, we recommend that your organization establish an Accreditation Team.

The Accreditation Team is responsible for overseeing the completion of the application, talking with the Land Trust Accreditation Commission’s review team, participating in a site visit, if necessary, and conducting any required followup. The Accreditation Team can have as many individuals as is appropriate for your organization and should include the following:

• Individuals knowledgeable about how things work (or don’t) in your organization.
• Individuals who are able to recommend new policies or procedures as a result of answering the questions in the application.
• Individuals who can implement changes resulting from the accreditation review.

Long-lasting results are achieved when a commitment is made by the entire organization. We strongly suggest that the Accreditation Team include representatives of the board and that it frequently update the full board of directors on where the organization is in the accreditation process.

2. Designate Your Team Captain
Pilot program participants stress the need for one point person to coordinate the application process for the organization. Each land trust should consider who best fills this role, but pilots emphasize the need for someone extremely organized and able to delegate and meet deadlines – a real taskmaster! Once you designate a person to manage the entire project, the accreditation coordinator should:

• Get board (or management) recognition that applying for accreditation is a priority for this person.
• Delegate components of the application to other members of the Accreditation Team.
• Set up a schedule and set deadlines.
• Order supplies (paper, binders, tabs, etc.).
• Find a non-team member to be the final reviewer.

3. Go the Distance
As your organization moves through the application process, you will be asked to meet several deadlines (i.e. preapplication and application, requests for additional documents, notification of your stakeholders, etc.). Our requests for information will almost always be via e-mail. Notice from the Commission begins when the e-mail is sent, not when it is opened by the applicant. We will include a due date in our request. This date is not a postmark deadline – please plan ahead to make sure your submission arrives in the Commission's office by that date.

You can anticipate some of these deadlines and make sure you have the materials needed to meet them. For example:

• Make sure to have the materials necessary to ship the application to the Commission (boxes, packing materials, shipping slips, etc.).
• Have a check processed in time to meet each fee deadline.
• Schedule board meetings in time to approve the required board resolution and other policies.
• Plan to include an article on accreditation in an upcoming newsletter, etc.

4. Conserve Your Energy
Land trust accreditation is based on a thorough paperbased process, but there are some ways applicants can help reduce the overall amount of paper – and energy – used.

• Please use double-sided copies. This not only reduces the size of the complete application binder, it saves trees!
• There is no need to make multiple copies of the same attachment and insert it multiple times. Simply attach it once and make a note on your Master Attachment Checklist. See the Applicant Handbook for an example.
• In many cases your organization may have a written policy or procedure that fully describes a process and answers the application question. In that case there is no need to repeat what is in the written document. Your answer to the question can simply refer to the attachment and how you use the document.
• Complete an office copy of your application first; do not make all your copies at once. Once you think it is all together, have a non-team member review it. Then put sticky notes on items that are missing or need to be moved and remove them as the items are addressed. Once this is done, then it’s time to make the Commission copies.

5. Strive for Best in Show
As one pilot group said, “Organize the application and present it well. If commissioners are looking at multiples of these, you want yours to stick out as the best!” Here are some tips for a well-organized application.

• When you attach documents that include a small reference to the item requested in the application (i.e. board meeting minutes, amended easements, etc.), please help the reviewers more quickly find the referenced information by highlighting the relevant text in some way (an arrow, highlighted text, stickers, etc.).
• You can aid reviewers by dividing information within the main tabs using mini-tabs or colored sheets to separate attachments within each standard.
• If you don’t have a document, don’t just ignore the question – tell us why or give us what you do have.
• Use sheet protectors for odd-sized documents, like maps and special event invitations. These plastic sleeves already have a three-hole punch and you can slide your documents into them without having to punch holes in the printed materials.

For more information, contact the Commission at 518-587-3143 or info[at]landtrustaccreditation.org.

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June 2008: Invasive Species Awareness Month

Invasive plants and animals threaten Wisconsin's waters and wildlands by invading and dominating native communities. In addition to ecological damage, invasive species also cause significant economic damage- each year millions of dollars, both public and private are spent to combat invasive species of Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin Council of Invasive Species is leading a statewide effort to inform citizens about invasive plants and animals this June as part of Wisconsin's fourth annual Invasive Species Awareness Month. Visit http://invasivespecies.wi.gov to learn more and find out how to participate in a workshop, field trip, lecture, or work party in your area.

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Honoring Land Conservation Leaders: Call for Nominations

It's true that our Awards Celebration is months away, but it's already time to collect nominations for our 2008 Land Conservation Leadership Awards. The awards recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of individuals, policy makers, and land trusts who work together to conserve the places that make Wisconsin special.

The awards honor the power of committed citizens and offer inspiring examples of conservation success. Visit our webpage for descriptions of past winners. We are seeking nominations for:

Land Trust of the Year
Policy Maker of the Year
Conservationist of the Year and/or Lifetime Achievement Award

We invite you to nominate an individual or a land trust that has demonstrated leadership protecting Wisconsin's natural resources. For nomination materials and more information about our awards, visit our website.

The deadline for nominations is May 23, 2008. Save September 25th for Gathering Waters Conservancy's 6th Annual Land Conservation Leadership Awards Celebration!

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IRS Form 990 Revisions

The IRS has made significant revisions to Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, the annual information tax return filed by most land trusts. The revamped Form 990 is effective for years ended December 31, 2008 or later (that is, tax returns filed in 2009 and beyond).

Among the many changes you will see when you complete your 2008 Form 990 are the following:

1. The revised Form contains new sections on “Governing Body and Management,” “Policies,” and “Disclosure,” which require the organization to disclose more information about how it is governed. Among the questions you will have to answer:

• Did the organization document the actions taken during the year by the Board of Directors or other body having authority to act for the Board?
• Was a copy of the Form 990 provided to the organization’s governing body before it was filed?
• Does the organization have a written conflict of interest policy?
• Are officers, directors, and key employees required to disclose annually interests that could give rise to conflicts?
• If the organization monitors compliance with this policy, describe how it does so.
• Does the organization have a written whistleblower policy?
• Does the organization have a written document retention and destruction policy?
• Did the process for determining compensation of the Executive Director, officers, and other key employees include review and approval by independent persons, comparability data, and contemporaneous substantiation of the deliberation and decision? If so, describe the process.
• Describe how the organization makes available for public inspection its governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements.

Since you will be required to disclose more about your organization’s governance, you should prepare now by taking the following actions:

• Update the conflict of interest policy, and make sure all board members and key employees complete annual conflict of interest statements.
• Be sure that you have minutes of all Board meetings, and of meetings of all committees that can act on behalf of the Board.
• Develop and approve whistleblower and document retention policies, if your organization has not already approved them.
• If compensation of key employees is based on market information or other comparability data, be sure to document the Board’s use of such information, and its deliberation about compensation decisions.

2. The revised Form 990 contains a new section on “Other IRS Filings,” in which your organization discloses compliance with the following IRS reporting requirements:

• The number of W-2 forms filed (reports compensation paid to employees during the year)
• The number of Forms 1099 filed (reports compensation of independent contractors during the year)
• Whether the organization provided any goods or services in exchange for contributions of $75 or more (if so, you must state whether the organization notified the donor or the value of the goods or services provided)

Some organizations are unaware of the requirements to report compensation to independent contractors paid in excess of $600 per year, and to report to donors the value received in exchange for payments to the organization. Make sure your land trust complies with these requirements.

3. The revised Form adds a new Schedule D, one section of which requires a number of disclosures about conservation easements. If your land trust holds easements, you must complete this section. Much of the information is the same as that which land trusts now provide in narrative form as an attachment to the Form 990. However, the revised Form requires two new disclosures:

• Whether the land trust has a written policy regarding the monitoring, inspection, and enforcement of the easements it holds, and
• How the land trust accounts for the easements it holds in its revenue and expense statements, and its balance sheet

Review your land trust’s policies concerning easement monitoring and accounting for easement acquisitions, and be sure you can respond appropriately on the 2008 Form 990.

Draft copies of the revised Form 990 and required schedules can be found on the IRS website: www.irs.gov. Click on the “charities and non-profits” tab, and you will see a link to the “Form 990 redesign for tax year 2008.”

Please note: the IRS has phased in required use of the revised Form 990. Accordingly, most organizations with gross receipts less than $1,000,000 and total assets less than $2,500,000 may elect to file Form 990-EZ for the 2008 tax year, rather than the revised Form 990. Similarly, most organizations with gross receipts less than $500,000 and total assets less than $1,250,000 may elect to file Form 990-EZ for the 2009 tax year. Beginning with the 2010 tax year, the Form 990-EZ thresholds will be permanently set at $200,000 gross receipts and $500,000 total assets. Form 990-EZ contains far fewer disclosure requirements than Form 990 and is much simpler to complete. Small land trusts may find it advisable to file Form 990-EZ.

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Online Resources

Whether you are a Board member, staff member or volunteer of your local land trust, Gathering Waters Conservancy’s website has helpful resources for you! Our Wisconsin Land Trusts web page has information on:

• land trust directory - to help you find the land trust working in the next county
• grants - private and public funding opportunities
• publications - sample newsletter articles and info packs
• WI DNR Conservation Easement Template - required for Stewardship grant applications
• jobs - job opening in the Midwestern conservation community
• links to other conservation organizations - statewide & national organizations, alliances & collaborations,
• links to other online conservation resources - policy & smart growth info, environmental data, maps, GIS data
• upcoming events - land conservation events around Wisconsin and the Midwest
• news - recent articles featuring land conservation successes
• Land Trust Listserv - a listserv to facilitate dialogue among WI land trust staff, volunteers and board members
• Policy Network Listserv - a listserv for conservation-minded individuals formed to educate decision makers and advocate for conservation programs in Wisconsin

Check out these great resources at www.gatheringwaters.org!

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Wisconsin's Wildlife Action Plan Conservation Priorities

Please join us at one of the regional open houses to view and provide feedback on the draft results of the Wildlife Action Plan Conservation Priority Setting process and the accompanying Conservation Opportunity Area map.

In 2005, Wisconsin's Wildlife Action Plan was accepted by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as our state's blueprint for conserving our fish and wildlife 'Species of Greatest Conservation Need' and their habitats.  The plan laid out over 1,700 conservation actions that would help secure the future of these species:  http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/wwap/ . 

The Department of Natural Resources has whittled down that enormous 'to-do list' and produce a 'to-do-first' list —> a shorter list of priority conservation  actions and accompanying maps of where the best places are in the state to undertake those actions.  In addition to serving as a framework for the conservation of species and their habitats in WI, the Wildlife Action Plan priorities will also help focus allocation of State Wildlife Grants for each 10 year version of the Plan (currently running until 2015).

Regional Open Houses 
6:00pm - 8:00pm 

Want more information on WI's Wildlife Action Plan?
Visit:  http://www.wildlifeactionplans.org/wisconsin.html or http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/wwap/

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Too often nonprofits come up with brilliant mailing campaigns that reap less-than-brilliant postage fees once sent to the mail house. But there are ways nonprofits can avoid unexpected charges even as most nonprofit postage rates rise in May.

The proposed rate adjustments filed by the U.S. Postal Service earlier this month and expected to be approved by the U.S. Postage Commission include changes to all types of mail, including first-class mail, standard mail, periodicals, package services and special services.  Some of the changes that are slated to occur May 12, 2008 include:

• Regular Letters: 0.8 percent increase
• Regular Flats: 1.2 percent decrease
• Nonprofit Regular Parcels and Non-Flat Machinable (NFM): 7.6 percent increase

How can you be sure that you are designing and printing materials with the optimum size and specifications for mailing so they are produced and mailed at the lowest postage rates possible?

Read the full article on the Association of Fundraising Professionals website

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At GWC we have built a strong corporate giving program – primarily centered around the annual Awards Celebration. Board members can make valuable contacts with business owners and employees of philanthropic corporations to support this effort. Below are some tips to keep in mind when approaching a business for their support.

- Companies respond to requests that meet their business interests, directly or indirectly. They tend to support causes that reflect well on them.

- Companies within a given community tend to exert and respond to peer influence, leading to a common level of corporate support.

- Many (but not all) corporate giving programs tend to be highly professional, with giving priorities well-defined and requiring a written proposal/letter. In this letter the organization should be able to document:
                                         o its worth/impact to the community,
                                         o who and how many people benefit from its programs,
                                         o who are its supporters

- Businesses give a pre-determined amount each year.

- Begin identifying corporate prospects by exploring:

o Businesses already close to your organization (those you do business with or know you well),        
o previous donors,
o local or regional companies
o companies that will benefit directly or indirectly from your programs or association

- When soliciting a gift, approach the employee that you have a relationship with, but understand that they might not be in a decision-making position. Determine who those people are and include them in the conversation.

- Make it clear to them what the “benefits” of their support will be. (i.e. recognition in the newsletter, free admissions to an event, exposure to a particular audience, etc.)

- Be sure to follow-up and let them know how the gift was used.

- Emotional appeals alone aren’t enough.

Contact Sara DeKok with your development questions at 608-251-9131 x10 or sara[at]gatheringwaters.org.

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The WI Department of Natural Resources recently updated and released their Contract Appraiser Contact List. In addition to verifying basic contact information, the DNR's survey included a few questions soliciting info about appraisers’ educational and work experience. All this was compiled and incorporated into a new Contract Appraiser Contact List that will be used by both the DNR and its partner organizations/NCOs as a reference for future appraisal assignments. Any comments or update requests should be forwarded to Brendon Perret at brendon.perret[at]wisconsin.gov or 608-266-0835.

In addition, the Department recently updated its DNR Appraisal Report Guidelines. The guidelines have been updated to reflect recent changes in USPAP and to keep the DNR guidelines consistent with USPAP, which is the minimum standard that all appraisals must meet. In addition, appraisals done for the Department must now also meet the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisition (UASFLA or “Yellow Book”). The use of federal funds for an acquisition always requires adherence to UASFLA, and may also require following additional federal guidelines as well, depending on the agency involved. The DNR guidelines strongly encourage appraisers to consult with Department real estate specialists and review appraisers before beginning complex assignments in order to make sure that all parties are clear on the exact nature of the assignment, and the standards that must be met. The guidelines also strongly encourage the use of Certified General Appraisers for all appraisal assignments.

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Land Trust/Non-Profit Job Opportunities

Visit the Jobs section of the Gathering Waters website for more information about the following job opportunities:

• Great Lake Gatherings Project Coordinator, Gathering Waters Conservancy
• Stewardship Assistant, AmeriCorps
• Executive Director, Center for Resilient Cities
• Interim Development Director, Center for Resilient Cities
• Invasive Species Control / Prescribed Burn Crew, BioLogic Environmental Consulting
• Executive Director, Kenosha/Racine Land Trust
• Regional Conservation Director, Southern Region, Minnesota Land Trust

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Visit the Events section of the Gathering Waters website for more information about the following events:

Co-Hosted by Gathering Waters Conservancy

Apr 26 - Land Legacy Gathering
Jun 6-7 - Land Trust Staff Retreat & Board Leadership Workshop
Sept 25 - 2008 Land Conservation Leadership Awards Celebration

Other Conferences and Events

Apr 14 - Conservation Options: The Land Protection Toolbox
Apr 18 - Central Wisconsin Prairie Chicken Festival
Apr 19 - Black Earth Creek Workday
Apr 25 - Global Climate Change and Sustainable Development
Apr 26 - Your Land, Your Vision
May 1 - NHLT 25th Anniversary Stewardship Awards Celebration
May 2 - River Rally 2008
May 3 - Forest Ecology and Management: From Soil to Sky
May 10 - Think Spring! UW- Madison Arboretum Native Plant Sale
May 14 - Strategic Conservation Planning Through a Freshwater Lens
May 17 - Reading the Health of Your Land: What Birds and Other Wildlife Can Tell You
May 15 - Board University
Jun 18 - Celebration for Cedar Lakes Conservation Foundation
Sep 18-21 - Rally 2008: The National Land Conservation Conference

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