Post by meadowview on Mar 26, 2009 16:21:53 GMT
Hi Marcello:
Good hearing from you and I wish you luck with your Thai preserve.
You ask a good question about our Joseph Pines Preserve, one that is very easy to answer. First, I personally don't own the land. The preserve is owned by the non-profit Meadowview Biological Research Station. While I am President and a member of the Board of Directors of Meadowview the land is owned by the non-profit. When/if something happens to me the board will continue to function and oversee Meadowview. If for some reason Meadowview ceased to function or terminated as an organization, by law, our assets (including land, cash, the plant collection, etc.) would be transferred to either the state or another non-profit.
We have been working on placing a Conservation Easement on the Joseph Pines Preserve which will be held by a state body in Virginia which will provide permanent, long-term protection for the preserve. We have a competitive grant in Virginia called the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation where we have applied several times to acquire additional land. We have scored higher and higher every time we apply and when we finally get this grant we will obtain more land and have a protected easement on Joseph Pines.
Now, I still have some relevant comments on your "What happens after you Phil?" In many organizations there are key people who drive an organization to success. I'm pretty sure my skill set is going to be hard to replace but we provide for this by having a Vice-President who would take over if something happens to the President. Our Vice-President position is open and I would very much like to groom someone to eventually take my place. That person will require intelligence (advanced degrees and experience in conservation biology), familiarity or direct experience with accounting and business operations, excellent interpersonal skills, and a good healthy dose of stamina and proven ability for physical exertion and intellectual and physical drive. The candidate must also be passionate about protecting and restoring the longleaf pine/white cedar/pitcher plant ecosystem. If anyone thinks they meet these qualifications, and wants to join the Meadowview team, please contact me.
Sincerely,
Phil Sheridan
Director
Meadowview Biological
Research Station
-----Original Message-----
From: marcello catalano [mailto:rafflesiana@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2009 11:46 AM
To: meadowview@pitcherplant.org
Subject: buying land
Hi Phil, I hope this finds you well
I've been toying with the idea of doing in Thailand what you're doing in the States. I'll have to get informed about the Thai laws, and find a Thai person to buy the land for me, but I've another question for you:
When you won't be there anymore, in 2-300 years, who'll be the owner of those lands? How can you be sure they'll be preserved forever? It will be in the hands of your descendents, who might decide to sell everything or to make some corn fields out of it? Or is there some way to declare it as a protected area forever, maybe under the government protection, or something like that?
Thanks!
Marcello
Good hearing from you and I wish you luck with your Thai preserve.
You ask a good question about our Joseph Pines Preserve, one that is very easy to answer. First, I personally don't own the land. The preserve is owned by the non-profit Meadowview Biological Research Station. While I am President and a member of the Board of Directors of Meadowview the land is owned by the non-profit. When/if something happens to me the board will continue to function and oversee Meadowview. If for some reason Meadowview ceased to function or terminated as an organization, by law, our assets (including land, cash, the plant collection, etc.) would be transferred to either the state or another non-profit.
We have been working on placing a Conservation Easement on the Joseph Pines Preserve which will be held by a state body in Virginia which will provide permanent, long-term protection for the preserve. We have a competitive grant in Virginia called the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation where we have applied several times to acquire additional land. We have scored higher and higher every time we apply and when we finally get this grant we will obtain more land and have a protected easement on Joseph Pines.
Now, I still have some relevant comments on your "What happens after you Phil?" In many organizations there are key people who drive an organization to success. I'm pretty sure my skill set is going to be hard to replace but we provide for this by having a Vice-President who would take over if something happens to the President. Our Vice-President position is open and I would very much like to groom someone to eventually take my place. That person will require intelligence (advanced degrees and experience in conservation biology), familiarity or direct experience with accounting and business operations, excellent interpersonal skills, and a good healthy dose of stamina and proven ability for physical exertion and intellectual and physical drive. The candidate must also be passionate about protecting and restoring the longleaf pine/white cedar/pitcher plant ecosystem. If anyone thinks they meet these qualifications, and wants to join the Meadowview team, please contact me.
Sincerely,
Phil Sheridan
Director
Meadowview Biological
Research Station
-----Original Message-----
From: marcello catalano [mailto:rafflesiana@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2009 11:46 AM
To: meadowview@pitcherplant.org
Subject: buying land
Hi Phil, I hope this finds you well
I've been toying with the idea of doing in Thailand what you're doing in the States. I'll have to get informed about the Thai laws, and find a Thai person to buy the land for me, but I've another question for you:
When you won't be there anymore, in 2-300 years, who'll be the owner of those lands? How can you be sure they'll be preserved forever? It will be in the hands of your descendents, who might decide to sell everything or to make some corn fields out of it? Or is there some way to declare it as a protected area forever, maybe under the government protection, or something like that?
Thanks!
Marcello
