Annual Monitoring Visits
Each year, staff members and trained volunteers make the rounds, meeting with landowners to discuss the ecological conditions on their protected lands, building relationships with landowners, and serving as a resource.
Protecting Land with Conservation Easements
The majority of land protected by Jefferson Land Trust is protected in partnership with private landowners using voluntary land conservation agreements called conservation easements.
Conservation easements are a standard tool used by Land Trusts to conserve land and open spaces forever. These easements legally secure the landowner’s commitment to preserving the natural features and conditions of their property that will be important for generations to come. A conservation easement is a voluntary agreement that limits the landowner’s ability to develop and exploit the property while maintaining the land’s conservation values.
The conservation values protected by Jefferson Land Trust range from natural (wildlife habitat and diversity, water quality) to economic (farm and ranchland preservation, outdoor recreation) to social (education, historic preservation, scenic views).
Ensuring Compliance and Care
When Jefferson Land Trust secures a conservation easement on private property, we then become responsible for ensuring the protected conservation values are being honored over time. One way the Land Trust achieves this is by making at least annual site visits to all properties it holds conservation easements on.
Annual Monitoring and Relationship Building
Conservation easement monitoring is an essential activity of the Land Trust. Each year, staff members and trained volunteers make the rounds, meeting with landowners to discuss the ecological conditions and features on their protected lands.
Compliance and Collaboration
An essential part of caring for easement-protected land is maintaining good relationships with landowners and serving as a resource on land management issues. On these visits, we work to develop and strengthen relationships with these important partners: looking for signs of wildlife, suggesting ways to address invasive weeds or other conditions, and carefully checking each property to ensure that the parameters of the conservation easement are being followed.
During these annual visits we make sure that any activities on the land fall within the terms of the conservation easement. If any conservation values are damaged or at risk, or if there’s a violation of the terms of the easement, it’s the Land Trust’s obligation to work with the landowners to bring about compliance. Most of the time, however, we’re pleased to see these properties thriving under the protection of the conservation easements and the careful stewardship of the property owners.
Are You an Easement Landowner?
We encourage landowners to consider the Land Trust a resource for information on caring for your land.