The Conservation Community Delegation is currently made up of representatives from The Nature Conservancy, Maine Coast Heritage Trust, Appalachian Mountain Club, Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative, the Forest Society of Maine, Maine Mountain Collaborative, and Land in Common. In 2019, Peter and Ciona invited the current members to serve for initial 3-year terms because they were members of the first cohort of the learning journey and demonstrated organizational commitment to the larger goals of First Light. The Wabanaki Commission on Land and Stewardship determined the size of the Delegation. In 2022, the Conservation Community Delegation voted to add one new member to the Delegation, and in 2024, they voted to add two new members. Other organizations will be invited to apply in future years.
As part of their service on the Conservation Community Delegation, member organizations are required to send a letter to First Light committing to sharing the resources needed for this work. These letters are backed up by support and approval from the organization's board for their involvement. You can view the letters of commitment to the Delegation below.
One of the key values of First Light is transparency and therefore it's important that we communicate not only the transactional work that we are committed to, but also the inner cultural and relationship work of our Delegation community. Guiding our work is a Value Statement and a set of Group Agreements.
Delegates must fulfill the following:
- Time commitments including, but not limited to, one 2-hour Delegation meeting each month, and up to 5-7 hours of additional work per month such as emailing, phone-calls, or subcommittee work.
- Be supported by additional organizational resources and commitment including, but not limited to, additional staff expertise, funding, land, relationships, and more.
- Be a good communicator and maintain a high level of confidentiality.
- Be comfortable with evolving processes – we are ever learning, evaluating, and shifting based on new information or emergent needs.
- Endorsement from the organization’s Executive Director or Board President in the form of a commitment letter, backed up by full-board approval (e.g. a board resolution, board approval of the letter).
A note on funding: we believe that the organizations behind Delegation members should fund the member's participation as a show of commitment to our Wabanaki colleagues. We recognize this may not always be possible, in which case First Light can provide support by offering a letter of support to your funders or by offering funding itself.