Minutes
Gustavus Land Legacy
April 3, 2002
Gustavus Public Library, 10/28/01, 7:15 p.m.
Present: Hank Lentfer, Blair, Nathan Borson, Meadow Brook, Jim and Jo Donner, Mary Hervin, Judy Brakel, Jim and Lisa Etherington.
Fundraising
At our fall meeting we found we had met our $50,000 target for local contributions. At that time, we agreed to set another target of an additional $50,000 because additional efforts are good publicity and strengthen our position with institutional donors. Since then we have raised
- $15,000 in direct donations
- $3,000 at the Juneau Save The Land Jam
- $1,200 at the talent show
- $1,700 at the sushi feed
- $7,000 grant from the Leighty Foundation
That's a total of another $28,000, for a grand total of $78,000 so far. This is a strong show of local support, thanks to generous GLL supporters and a creative, hard-working fundraising committee. Unfortunately, 13 months into our 2-year purchase agreement, that's all that has been raised.
Additional efforts are underway with the Nature Conservancy, some of which will probably bear fruit:
- Ducks Unlimited has verbally pledged $25,000 but they might be able to do more.
- Government money may be available: can submit for North America Wetland Conservation Act, US Fish and Wildlife Service March 1. That's another $1 Million potential with a private match required.
- Coastal Impact Assistance program from State of Alaska -- our proposal for $100,000 has made the first cut.
- We expect there to be a donor visit in August, which will be a good opportunity to show off our lands and community to some people who can really help.
The Alaska Mental Health Trust is pushing a Community Enhancement Initiative to conserve parcels important to certain communities, including Gustavus. They are seeking federal funding and reportedly Senator Stevens is looking favorably on the project; funding could come from the Fish and Wildlife Service conservation funds.
TNC Staff Changes
Jim Ferguson, manager of the Juneau Nature Conservancy Office, is no longer there and his position is vacant, with his projects farmed out to Anchorage staff. Hank has been working in the Juneau office on contract with TNC, mainly on the GLL project and a conservation plan for Icy Strait. So TNC is paying Hank's salary for now!
Jeff Pickett, development director for Alaska, will also be leaving shortly. He placed many irons in the fire, which Hank and Randy Hagenstein will be following up on (see Fundraising, above).
Concerns Raised
Jim Donner offered some concerns and suggestions that he and others he has spoken to have regarding the Gustavus Land Legacy project. Besides having a general philosophical objection to "locking up" lands, he offered the specific questions, observations, and suggestions shown below, along with replies from others who were present. It was generally agreed that an article in Icy Passages News would be a good way to address some of the concerns that have been brewing in the community. Everyone was grateful to Jim for sharing his concerns.
- He didn't realize that GLL was a committee of GCA.
While The committee was formed October 8, 1998. - He had understood that if we raised $50,000 locally, the Nature
Conservancy would provide the rest.
We were all under the mis-apprehension that TNC would simply write a check. It's only been a year since Hank reported that "there has been a fundamental shift in thinking about where the $4 Million in funds will come from." We have learned that TNC just doesn't have that kind of money to donate. - He suggests that the property that has just come up for sale across from
the Gustavus Inn, in the center of town, would be most worthy of
conservation.
A number of people agreed that it would be great to preserve this open space and that it would get broad local support. But it isn't the kind of property that The Nature Conservancy is looking for. They don't buy city parks; they buy wildlife sanctuaries. This piece would be managed differently from the rest of the project and while GLL might be a body that could pursue its protection, it would probably be a separate endeavor from the mental health trust lands. We probably could not use money that we collected for the purpose of purchasing Mental Health Trust land, so this would be a separate fundraising effort. - He would prefer to see ownership local instead of by an outside entity
such as the Nature Conservancy.
See the discussion and decision in the January 17, 2001 minutes. - Where is the money kept? Is it covered by GCA accounting? Has the
committee donated some of its proceeds for general GCA operations?
Some of the money is in a GCA account. Meadow has worked closely with GCA to make sure all guidelines and accounting procedures are followed. Most of the money has been donated to and held by the Nature Conservancy so that donors can deduct the contributions from their taxes. - There was a letter sent to Senator Stevens' office on GCA letterhead
without the GCA membership voting on it. This will be discussed at
tomorrow's GCA Board meeting.
The letter was written in a high-stakes, short-deadline situation and is a statement of facts reflecting prior decisions made by the general GCA membership. - Will outside money from the many sources mentioned earlier come with
strings attached? That is, will there be additional restrictions on land
use?
We have a management agreement describing how the land will be used. In the letter mentioned above, and in other solicitations, we've been clear that we won't accept funds that would force us into a different management scenario for the land. - Could the property's purchased be financed by the Trust?
This was discussed with TNC staff but never with the Trust. TNC experts said that it is difficult or impossible to raise funds for paying off a loan.
Adjourned at 8:30 pm
Notes by Nathan Borson