Dear Friends of Mount Grace,
After receiving more than a few concerned emails and phone calls, regarding the potential implications of federal cuts for our conservation work at Mount Grace, I decided it made sense to compose a comprehensive response for all of us. These changes at the Federal level may represent significant challenges in the coming months and years and much of it is unfolding by the day. I am writing to share more information about their direct impacts on Mount Grace, based on what I know at this moment.
Support for Mount Grace is deeply rooted in our communities. The bulk of our operating funds are raised through individual giving and grants from private foundations, with some additional support from both state and federal grants.
Federal grants typically comprise a small percentage of this operating support. Mount Grace hosts a TerraCorps member each year, funded through AmeriCorps. We also participate in outreach programs funded by the USDA in partnership with UMass. The future funding of TerraCorps service program (Americorps for the land) is currently up in the air. They are working on revising the program focus to better match administrative directives and help ensure next year’s funding. We are unsure if that effort will be successful.
The outreach program focusses on inviting deed holders who are considering conservation as part of their overall legacy planning to resources sessions. These events have played a critical role in helping Mount Grace build our conservation intakes and funding for this program relies in part on the USDA.
Both TerraCorps and the partnership with UMASS have been critical components in Mount Grace work, however, these federal awards add up to about 5.2% of Mount Grace’s annual budget. We remain committed to achieving our conservation goals, even if these resources are not available.
A larger issue is federal funding for specific projects. The Forest Legacy and North American Wetlands Conservation Act programs play an important role in making conservation affordable. Loss of these and similar federal programs could significantly reduce the pace and impacts of land conservation nationwide.
While loss of all federal support for conservation would pose a significant problem, the funding mix Mount Grace historically relies on for large-scale land protection includes both federal and state dollars. For example, while receiving no Forest Legacy grants between 2017-2020, Mount Grace still funded and implemented three multi-partner conservations projects in four years through the Massachusetts Landscape Partnership Program. We expect to continue our large-scale conservation initiatives over the next four years as well, provided state funding remains accessible.
We also share concerns with many of you about how these policy changes will impact our farm and food system partners. Many local farm businesses run on extremely small margins. USDA funding can be critical for infrastructure improvements or adopting new practices to help farms stay in business. We keep hearing about farmers who received federal grants to complete habitat management, improve or build farm infrastructure, or adopt climate smart practices on their farms, who are now being told that the promised reimbursements are now frozen. Not only have these families extended significant resources that they might not recuperate with dire financial consequences, what will happen ongoing? A blanket freeze of grant funds helping farms build their climate resilience could have significant negative consequences for our nation’s food security.
Mount Grace maintains that federal funding for land conservation and stewardship should not be cut. These programs are critical to support climate resilience, biodiversity, and America’s rural economy, and deserve continued bipartisan support. We and our partners will continue to complete innovative and impactful large-scale conservation. We will continue to make the case for the necessity of our work for clean water, clean air, wildlife, for our rural economy, for our peace and health.
I will continue to keep you posted on how we anticipate these changes as the National level will touch our region of North Central Massachusetts and please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions. Your support and insights are essential to keeping the wheels on the bus especially in the face of adversity.
Warmly,
Emma