NEWS OF REGIONAL INTEREST

Bay Area Open Space Council Annual Conference: Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The Bay Area Open Space Council is a collaborative of over fifty-five member organizations actively involved in permanently protecting and stewarding important parks, trails and agricultural lands in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. Thank you to all who attended the Council's Ninth Annual Open Space Conference on Wednesday, June 13th, 2007, at the Golden Gate Club, Presidio of San Francisco. Together, we learned more about collaborative leadership, challenging our assumptions, and building healthier and whole communities in the Bay Area.
www.openspacecouncil.org/

Barbara Weitz, Morris Older, Karen Johnson and Nancy Couperus describe how Bay Area Barns and Trails supports the mission of the Bay Area Open Space Council. - June 2007

Job Opportunity: Conservation Consultant
BABTT has not acquired easements or fee title to any property despite several ‘near’ wins. We must increase our efforts!!
So...we are now seeking a ‘conservation consultant’ to work with equestrian landowners interested in preserving lands adjacent to public open space and trails. Our conservation consultant will manage conservation easement and fee simple transaction projects, including landowner initiation and negotiations, preparation of easements and legal documents, transaction due diligence, preparation of stewardship files and baseline documents and closing. This opportunity to help preserve equestrian lands will remain open until ‘filled.’ Salary to be ‘determined.’


‘California Land Trusts: Protecting the Best of California’
More than 150 land trusts work in local communities throughout California. Together, they share a common vision for conserving California's natural areas and farmlands and keeping California the beloved place that Californians call home. California land trusts partner with local communities and landowners to identify, protect and steward important conservation lands to benefit Californians.


Land Trust Alliance (LTA).
The Land Trust Alliance coordinates and educates its 1,667 member organizations throughout the fifty states to ensure that its members practices and policies are consistent with the highest standards of land conservation. Members of the Land Trust Alliance are required to abide by ‘Standard and Practices’ developed in 2004. Bay Area Barns and Trails is pursuing this effort which requires significant time, education, communication and commitment. We need to move more quickly! Therefore, we are recruiting a volunteer (some payment possible) to assure that BABTT conforms to the S & P requirements. This project requires research and record keeping. Would be perfect for a self-employed ‘stay–at-home’ mom or dad.

Standards and Practices Accreditation will enable BABTT to be eligible for grant monies and stand as an equal with other land trusts through the country, www.lta.org


Recommended Reading
The Country in the City: The Greening of the San Francisco Bay Region
Richard Walker, Author and Professor, UC Berkeley


Horsin' Around Calendar
Marilynn Terstegge has developed an electronic calendar which provides Bay Area equestrians with information about current meetings and events. To add your name to this e-mail list, please click on the following link and provide the necessary information.
www.horseNpony.com/horsinaround/signup.asp


Bay Area Equestrian Network
Debbie Smith's outstanding website continues to provide equestrians with excellent and up-to-date information, news, and listings about a variety of activities, programs and businesses in the Bay Area and around the State. Please add 'BAEN' to your 'FVS' (Frequently Visited Sites)
www.bayequest.com

Do you have news about land and trails preservation in your county?
Please submit your stories, and any accompanying photos, to Bay Area Barns and Trails.
babtt@earthlink.net