By: Kyla Kaplan
Michelle Cable is a life-long equestrian, who was able to combine her passion for horses and agriculture with her goal to have a career working on environment and land stewardship.
Before becoming the Executive Director of Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF) in 2018, Cable worked as the Director of Protection for the Georgia Chapter of the Nature Conservancy and before that worked for the MD Rural Legacy Program at the Department of Natural Resources. Since 2011, Cable has been with MALPF. Even after 20 years in the field of easement acquisition programs, she still says everyday has new surprises.
Register at: https://go.umd.edu/aleiconf2019registration
Cable explained that on a daily basis she encourages buyers and those with easements to talk with her, and MALPF generally, to make sure they understand the realities of easement restrictions. “There are no [senseless] questions and we would rather people not have buyer’s remorse later on,” Cable said. “We encourage people to talk with us or other land trust and land conservation groups to make sure all their questions are answered prior to any purchase.”
MALPF replies to inquiries about new easements and works on maintenance, questions, comments, and concerns about stewardship of existing easements.
At the upcoming Agricultural and Environmental Law Conference, Cable will be speaking on a panel to provide an overview of how agricultural operators can remain in compliance with easement provisions as their operations evolve and diversify.
“The land trust and land conservation community is collaborative and cooperative working group,” Cable explained. “There is a role for everyone and it is not competitive, but a cooperative space that makes it so landowners are able to find the fit for them,” she said.
To learn more and hear from Michelle Cable, please attend the annual Agriculture Law Education Initiative (ALEI) Conference on November 14, 8:00am-3:00pm at the Crown Plaza in Annapolis, MD.
Additional details and conference registration are at https://go.umd.edu/aleiconf2019registration.
