Managing Conservation Easements in Perpetuity - Environmental ...

106
management system, a database to hold and update tracking information
about each easement and landowner, and a GIS mapping system.
This system allows multiple staff to enter information and records
with a single manager and a backup to ensure quality and completeness.
VLT’s system is also nimble and adaptive, allowing a wide variety
of meaningful information to be extracted from the system to track
trends, anticipate capacity needs, avoid violations, develop relationships
and report to the board, the legislature, partners and funders.
Records Management Policy, Marin Agricultural Land Trust,
California (page 119)
Founded in 1980, the Marin Agricultural Land Trust has a staff of
13 and has preserved more than 40,000 acres of farmland in Marin
County. MALT’s policy is comprehensive and addresses its philosophy
of the importance of recordkeeping, off-site storage and computer
backup of paper records. In 2008, the land trust decided to move to
an all-digital recordkeeping format and use The Nature Conservancy’s
Conservation Track. Land trusts who prefer the paper route will find
this policy comprehensive.
Statement of Policies (excerpt on recordkeeping), Greensboro Land
Trust, Vermont (page 126)
The Greensboro Land Trust, working in the northeast corner of
Vermont, is an all-volunteer, accredited organization. The group has
a strong, active board of directors led by an energetic long-time president.
The land trust has a portfolio of 13 conservation easements
as of 2007. Its policy statements are simple and direct, sized for the
organization’s capacity and needs. The town of Greensboro allows the
Greensboro Land Trust to store its permanent records in a locked
file cabinet in the town’s safe. Keys to the file cabinet are held by the
Greensboro town clerk. Any member of the executive committee and
the chair(s) of the monitoring committee are authorized to borrow the
key and access documents in the file cabinet.This policy is a good start
on essential recordkeeping. It addresses off-site storage, access, electronic
backup and essential documents to retain, as well as the person
responsible for file maintenance.
Record-Keeping Policy, Columbia Land Conservancy, New York
(page 128)
The Columbia Land Conservancy made a conscious decision to use
a paper-based primary archival system. With this decision came the
determination to spend the resources necessary to ensure the longest
Managing Conservation Easements in Perpetuity