Landowner Outreach

The Maine Natural Areas Program (MNAP) firmly believes that voluntary conservation is the most effective way to protect Maine's natural heritage. Informing landowners of significant botanical features documented on their land or requesting permission to conduct a field survey of a particular parcel are ongoing efforts at MNAP and provide the opportunity for MNAP to offer management suggestions and technical assistance to landowners interested in conservation.

MNAP has developed a landowner contact system to manage and maintain information about the landowners we work with. Landowners may be contacted for many reasons. Most often, landowners are sent letters containing information about their property or requesting permission for MNAP to conduct a field survey. If permission is granted and a field survey is conducted, follow-up information and field survey results are provided to the landowner.

Land Trust Outreach

The Maine Natural Areas Program (MNAP) and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) work closely with land trusts to conserve high value habitat in Maine by integrating important natural resource information into on-going land trust planning and protection efforts.

MNAP and MDIFW have developed a system that uses multiple sources of information to identify landscape-scale ecologically significant areas. These areas are called "focus areas" and typically include rare species, species assemblages, and other natural features that are considered significant on a statewide basis. Focus area selection criteria were developed to aid in the selection of sites. For each focus area, Focus Area Descriptions and maps are created and presented to the appropriate land trust(s). To date, focus areas have been selected for the southern, mid-coast, and downeast areas.

MNAP Activities

MNAP Information

Landowner Outreach

Land Trust Outreach