Background
For 55 years DNRT has been at the heart of the Dartmouth community, preserving our most precious resources:
- wetlands that clean our water, and forests that clean our air
- habitats for our native plants and wildlife
- working farms that provide us with fresh, local food
- scenic landscapes and natural areas for us to explore and enjoy
Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust (DNRT) is a non-profit, membership-supported land trust established in 1971 to preserve and protect Dartmouth’s natural resources for people and nature, forever.
Working with the community, the Town of Dartmouth, and other conservation organizations, DNRT has helped protect more than 5,600 acres of land.
DNRT currently owns and manages over 2,000 acres of land across 56 Reserves. Twenty of these Reserves have trail systems with over 41 miles of trails, collectively. These properties are located from the northern-most portion of Dartmouth to the southern shores of town.
From our humble beginnings, we have seen immense growth. Stewarding the lands we own is becoming a management challenge, especially as we continue to protect new properties.
The stewardship of our reserves requires two very important things:
- dedicated staff
- equipment
To continue preserving important lands and maintaining properties to the high standards we employ, we need your help.
OUR FUTURE
DNRT has been one of the most successful land trusts in Massachusetts. However, there is still so much to be done. Important natural habitat and farmland remain unprotected and land currently under protection needs careful long-term management so that it may continue to benefit future generations.
DNRT’s Gaining Ground Campaign seeks to raise $1.4 million to provide this protection and stewardship: $800,000 for our Stewardship Fund and $600,000 for facility improvements.
STEWARDSHIP FUND
In the past 54 years, we have accomplished great things. When we received our first donation of 17 acres of salt marsh, we couldn’t even imagine our new organization owning 2,031 acres of land, but here we are! In addition to the many acres of land we own, we also hold conservation restrictions on another 1,400 acres. In total, we are stewarding nearly 3,500 acres of protected land, which is no small feat.
DNRT’s Stewardship Fund was created by the Board of Directors to provide dedicated funds for the labor and materials needed to maintain our growing portfolio of protected land. These funds don’t just provide for lumber and gravel. The Stewardship Fund supports engineers and surveyors, annual property inspections, permitting costs, and legal fees associated with enforcing our property boundaries, as well as the DNRT team who cares for and raises funds for these properties.
As our total acreage and number of reserves continues to increase, the limits of our human capacity are being reached, which reduces our ability to meet new opportunities for land protection. Through the Gaining Ground campaign we seek to refresh the Stewardship Fund in order to:
- Continue stewarding the properties that we have protected by upholding the terms of our Conservation Restrictions, maintaining property boundaries, and other activities.
- Provide additional miles of trails at existing and future Reserves.
- Increase our ability to leverage grant funding to support big initiatives.
FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS
The DNRT Center at Helfand Farm has been our headquarters and home base for the past decade. When we moved from the Old Southworth Library in Padanaram, our new office and Land Management barn enabled us to grow our capacity to protect and steward Dartmouth’s most important land. In that decade we have continued to grow. Immensely.
With the addition of hundreds of new acres of land and conservation restrictions to steward in the past ten years, we have invested in numerous new tools, equipment, and vehicles. As we look towards the future, we see the potential for immense growth. However, that growth is impeded by our ability to store and maintain critical land management assets.
After a year of planning and evaluation by the Board of Directors, DNRT has identified two solutions:
- Additional storage and maintenance space on the Joe Frothingham Land Management Barn.
- A new barn for large equipment and materials in the south field.
These additions will provide the physical space needed to meet the challenge of stewarding additional habitat and farmland in Dartmouth.
TO TRANSFER SECURITIES, please provide the following information to your broker:
Vanguard Brokerage Services (455 Devon Park Drive, Wayne, PA 19087)
DTC #: 0062
Receiving Account Name: Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust, Inc.
Receiving Account #: 31158937
To enable DNRT to maintain accurate records, it is important that you or your broker notify DNRT of the gift (incl. name of security) and its purpose.
THERE'S SO MUCH LEFT TO PROTECT!
DNRT’s mission is aligned with Dartmouth’s future. With your support we will:
- Build a foundation for stewardship: DNRT will continue to hold the highest standards for maintaining visitor experience and management of natural resources.
- Enable fast protection: Having top notch stewardship capabilities allows us to move quickly to protect important habitat without concern for stewardship capacity.
- Ensure our continued support: Bring more dollars to Dartmouth from competitive grant and foundation sources.
To learn more, please contact Nick Wildman at nick@dnrt.org or (508) 991-2289.