Introduction

Land Trusts acquire property in a variety of ways. They buy it at market value. Someone donates it for zero money. They buy it at a bargain price. They use grants to purchase it. They hold conservation easements, or they only manage it.

Some land trusts are very particular about the lands that they receive or purchase. The Nature Conservancy, for example, only takes land that has endangered plant or animal species on it, or that in its entirety is itself an endangered habitat or ecosystem. Other land trusts, such as the Trust for Public Lands, spend their time being intermediaries between smaller land trusts and government agencies that may not currently have appropriations to purchase high priority land, and the land owner that needs to sell as soon as possible. These trusts purchase the land to hold it until those agencies can find the money. In this way, land trusts have assisted state and federal governments as well as small local land trusts tremendously.

In the beginning, the Scarborough Land Conservation Trust had no set policy for its land acquisition program; however, its mission is clearly stated in the Articles of Agreement of 1975

"The purposes of the corporation are to receive and administer property and funds for the promotion and advancement of conservation, education, science, and..."

"...a specific purpose of the corporation shall be the acquisition of small areas of environmentally sensitive and undeveloped land within the Town of Scarborough, with particular emphasis on shoreland, tidal areas, inland wetlands, and other unique or scenic areas, to be held forever in its natural state for the benefit and enjoyment of the people..."

Until 1995, the SLCT�s holdings were minimal. At that time, a generous man named Albert Sewell donated 35 acres outright. His only request was the wise stewardship of the property that he and his family had taken care of for 60 years. It was an exciting time for the Land Trust, because the woods included two loop trails and a couple of bridges over small streams. It represented the largest contribution to the Land Trust and provided parking and trails for visitors. This set the precedent for future acquisitions. Seeing the benefits of this, the SLCT created an informal policy of only accepting lands with endowments for stewardship, locations for parking, and public access. The Land Trust was beginning to define the characteristics of land they wanted to protect.

In a very short period of time, the Scarborough Land Conservation Trust more than doubled its total property. In the fall of 1995 the Land Trust held 35 acres of easements and 69 acres outright. The purchase of the Libby River Farm 120+ acres more than doubled the property owned and/or managed by the SLCT. A list of those lands is found below.