Creative Conservation, LLC
Land Use and Conservation Consulting
Jerry A. Bley, Principal
27 Giles Road,Readfield, ME 04355
Doreen MacGillis, Associate
About Us
Creative Conservation, LLC is a land use and conservation consulting firm dedicated to creating positive land use models in Maine and elsewhere. We work with private landowners, non-profit organizations, and government agencies on ambitious land conservation initiatives and challenging land planning projects.
Our expertise involves both working with people and working with the land to come up with solutions that achieve the objectives of our clients while treating the land with respect.
Since its founding, Creative Conservation LLC has:
- Spearheaded the acquisition of over 125 conservation properties and conservation easements including spectacular coastal gems, lake watersheds, mountain ranges, vast tracts of productive forest land, working farms and river systems.
- Helped over 90 families develop a plan for the future of their cherished family ownerships through a facilitated decision-making process.
- Designed innovative plans for properties that balanced conservation with other landowner objectives.
Jerry Bley
Doreen MacGillis
Doreen MacGillis
Jerry Bley founded Creative Conservation, LLC in 1990 after working 10 years as a land use specialist for the Natural Resources Council of Maine. In the decades since, he has completed scores of land conservation and land planning projects throughout the state and beyond. He enjoys taking on challenging projects that require bringing people together and coming up with creative solutions. In 2022, he received the Espy Land Heritage Award, an annual recognition of an individual or organization for exemplary conservation efforts in Maine. He has been appointed by several governors to help lead important conservation initiatives including the Northern Forest Lands Council and the Land Acquisition Priorities Advisory Committee.
Email: jbley@gwi.net phone: 207-685-3872
Doreen MacGillis
Doreen MacGillis
Doreen MacGillis
Doreen MacGillis joined Creative Conservation, LLC in 2023 after working for 23 years as the Executive Director of York Land Trust, a conservation organization in York, Maine. In that capacity, she completed dozens of land protection projects representing over 2,500 acres and facilitated the protection of an additional 1,200 acres held by state, federal and local agencies. Projects in York that Doreen led include the first-in-the-nation use of a conservation easement to protect a working waterfront, Sewall’s Bridge dock; the purchase of Highland Farm, an historically and ecologically-significant 150-acre property with partial funding from the Land for Maine’s Future Program, and the acquisition of Fuller Forest, a 220-acre working forest with partial funding from the Town of York through a ballot initiative.
Email: dmacg302@gmail.com phone: 207-363-0616