Volunteer Easement Monitoring Program Expands

A brief summary and a look back into the VEMP accomplishments of 2019

February 25, 2020
Tags:
Conservation Easements,
Volunteers,
Stewardship
Volunteers and staff standing in front of trees

The 2019 VEMP training day was a success! The training is mandatory for new volunteer easement monitors, but returning volunteers also participated to refresh some field and tech skills! Photo by Emily Lord

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and an abundance of caution the VEMP training scheduled for April 24th is postponed until further notice.

To help the Easement Stewardship team monitor thousands of acres of conservation properties, the Volunteer Easement Monitoring Program (VEMP) was started in 2016. Since then, the program has been gradually expanding.

Easement Stewardship is responsible for monitoring the Forest Society’s 700+ conservation easements and deed restrictions every year by air and every couple of years on the ground to ensure compliance with the easement/restrictions. These mostly privately-owned properties are scattered throughout NH and range from under an acre to over 10,000 acres. Volunteer easement monitors, as part of VEMP, had their busiest year this year.

 

pie chart showing the total number of visits completed by volunteer easement monitors
In 2019, 43 monitoring visits were conducted by 13 different volunteer easement monitors (each representing a different color on the pie chart) as part of VEMP.

During the 2019 field season, 13 VEMP volunteers successfully completed a day-long training in early May and conducted 43 monitoring visits throughout the summer and fall, spanning over 18,000 acres. This year we had the highest number of VEMP participants and monitoring visits, both which are expected to grow in the upcoming years!

 

 

staff training volunteers around conference table
Easement steward Zach Pearo leading the conversation on easement stewardship as part of VEMP training. (Photo by Emily Lord)

Volunteer easement monitors donate their time to monitor 2-5 assigned easements annually. It is a great way to get outdoors and support the Forest Society. One volunteer said this program “gave me the opportunity to see some beautiful settings that I would have never experienced otherwise.” Volunteer easement monitors are required to attend a training which covers the Forest Society’s history and mission, the basics of conservation easements and deed restrictions, use of GaiaGPS app for data collection in the field, and field methods for monitoring conservation properties.  

 

The 2020 VEMP training is mandatory for new volunteer easement monitors and optional for returning monitors. (See update above). If you would like to explore conservation properties and enjoy the challenge of navigating off-trail in the woods, VEMP might be a great fit for you!

 

 

 

staff and volunteers look at survey in the field
Community Engagement and Volunteers Director Carrie Deegan helps volunteers read a survey in the field. Photo by Emily Lord

 We have reached capacity for 2020 volunteers - please send an email to VEMP@ForestSociety.org if you would like to be involved in 2021 - Thank you

 

 

 

We greatly appreciate and thank our returning volunteers!

 

 

 

volunteers using compass and map in field smiling
Volunteers smile as they practice their compass and map skills in the field. (Photo by Emily Lord)

Please contact vemp@forestsociety.org if you are interested in becoming a volunteer easement monitor! You must be available on for the full-day training.