Mary Gregor earned an undergraduate degree in plant and soil sciences from the University of Maine and has served as a trustee of the Meadows and Mountains Trust since 1993. In this role, Mary Gregor oversees all operations of the trust, including advertising, buying, selling, and working alongside its attorney and surveyor, among others. Gregor has also facilitated the planning and execution of environmental forestry conservation easement gifts from the trust to the Forest Society of Maine.
Easement gifts involve making a legal commitment to help ensure that natural lands are preserved for future generations and benefit plant life, water, soil, and wildlife. This form of legal agreement is voluntary, permanent, and made between a qualified organization and a landowner. Such arrangements typically provide compensation to landowners for restricting the use of the land in order to protect it.
Every type of easement is unique, as each one is customized to the specific characteristics of the land involved and the purposes the agreement seeks to achieve. Some forms of easements limit subdivision development, which in effect helps to protect the nation’s food supply by keeping ranches and farms intact. Other types of easements may enhance wildlife habitats such as wetlands, grasslands, and agricultural areas.
