How do we keep Maine’s coast and islands accessible and productive as our state grows in popularity? Today we speak with two individuals who offer unique perspectives on this question: Tim Glidden, president of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust and Cliff Island conservationist, Roger Berle.
Guests
Tim Glidden
Tim Glidden serves as the president of Maine Coast Heritage Trust, a statewide land conservation organization that has helped to conserve over 144,000 acres of Maine’s most special places, including more than 300 coastal islands. MCHT stewards more than 100 public preserves and offers field trips and outdoor opportunities coast-wide, along with community programs in partnership with local organizations. MCHT also serves Maine’s 80-plus local land trusts. Prior to joining MCHT, Tim led the Land for Maine’s Future Program from 2001 to 2011, during a period of unprecedented success in the state’s land conservation. With his earlier work at the Natural Resources Council of Maine and as the principal analyst for natural resources at the Maine Legislature, Tim has been a participant and close observer of Maine’s environmental scene longer than he cares to confess. He graduated from Colby College and holds a master in forestry sciences from Yale. Born in Texas and raised in New England, Tim has lived in every spruce-fir state in the region. He loves sailing and is a volunteer steward for the Harpswell Heritage Land Trust.
Roger Berle
Roger Berle has long been a resident of Cliff Island with an additional home in Falmouth. Born in Massachusetts in 1943, he first came to Cliff Island when he was six months old and moved to Maine year-round almost 50 years ago. A graduate of Bowdoin (B.A.) and Boston Univeristy (M.B.A.), he inherited and embraced his parents’ major commitments to leadership in conservation and community. He has been heavily involved in nonprofits over the past few decades, even as he managed his construction business on Cliff Island through 2005. But he says it has been important to him to remain on and, often, head organizations dedicated to islands and conservation. Among these are: the Maine Islands Coalition, Sustainable Cliff Island, Cliff Island Corporation for Athletics, Conservation, and Education; Friends of Fort Gorges; Maine Conservation Voters; Oceanside Conservation Trust of Casco Bay; Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative; Portland Trails; and Portland Land Bank Commission.