The Kennebunkport Conservation
Trust is a community organization dedicated
to preserving the natural beauty of
our town. Overseen by a twelve-member Board
of Trustees and administered by the
Executive Director, the Trust has so far protected
over seventy properties through direct
purchase, donations, and conservation easements.
The Trust celebrated its 30th
anniversary in 2004. Thanks to a dedicated Board of
Trustees and a broad base of community
support, much has been accomplished since
the Trust
was founded by a small group of residents concerned about protection of
scenic open
spaces and wildlife habitats within the town.
From the beginning,
the group was resolute in its desire to protect the landscape and
characterof the town we all love. Through
instinct and inventory, we located areas worthy
of protection. Whenever we could, we
bought these special properties. With concern
and generosity, other parcels
were donated. And with each success, our willingness
to
act only became stronger. We have done
our best to foster a spirit of land conservation
among our fellow townspeople. We do
our best to bring all of our citizens together in
a common cause - young and old, rich
and not-so-rich, native and newcomer. We want
everyone to share in the excitement
and benefits of preserving the best properties our town
has to offer so that all of us, and
all of our children, will be able to enjoy them as we have.
We serve beans, sponsor concerts, raffle
goods ranging from art work to books
to a variety of autographed memorabilia,
hosted gatherings of all sorts, and stuffed
envelopes with who knowshow many requests
for funds over the years. At some events
we made thousands. At others, well,we'd
rather not talk about it. Some mailings were great
and some were not. But following each
event and every letter we were a bit larger, a bit
stronger, and our message louder. Our
current membershipof contributors is well over
one thousand. The pieces of our conservation
puzzle are falling intoplace, and the
pattern becoming clearer.
Despite the passage of time, our mission remains just
as vital today as it was at its founding,
and perhaps even more so given the increasing
pace of development in southern Maine.
Though much has been done, much more
remains to be accomplished. Time has given
us some wonderful victories and taught
us some important lessons. We know now
that with a clear objective and with
hard work, our shared visions can become realities.
Our town's beauty can be protected.
We can all have access to the shoreline.
We can all
experience the joy of exploring the
local islands or discovering the serenity
of our
nearby waterfalls. Thus, we continue
with our mission of preserving wetlands, woods, fields,
islands, beaches, wildlife corridors,
and all of the special places we love. Together we
can make a difference. Together we can
do great things.
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