Managing Conservation Easements in Perpetuity - Environmental ...

A violation resolution policy
holds your land trust steady
during the turmoil of evaluating
and documenting violations
and provides guidance on
determining whether a
violation has occurred and
how it should be addressed.
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recreation that has been undergoing work to restore the property to a mixed
native species habitat. A neighbor to the preserve had gradually deposited
the tires on the property over the years. Manitowoc County, which owns the
property, and the Conservancy, the easement holder, were both unsure about
the boundary line. The neighbor responsible for the violation had died, leav-
ing no legal recourse against him. Using a blend of perseverance and diplo-
macy, the Conservancy pushed the county to find a way to determine the
boundary line; eventually a survey of the area in question was conducted.
Unfortunately, once the county was established as the responsible land-
owner, it indicated that it did not have any financial resources to remove and
dispose of the tires, except to provide in-kind volunteers for the project.
The long search by the Conservancy to dispose of the tires ended when
Richard Larson, owner of Whitewall Tire Company and GreenSky Energetics
in Wisconsin, paid the tire disposal costs. He donated his and his staff’s time
to work with the county’s volunteers to load, haul and then pay for the proper
disposal of the tires that lay abandoned for years.
A Guide to Navigating Difficult Situations
A violation resolution policy holds your land trust steady during the
turmoil of evaluating and documenting violations and provides guidance
on determining whether a violation has occurred and how it
should be addressed. It is also valuable in defining upfront who has
the authority to act, so that your land trust avoids confusion, miscommunication,
delays and missteps. With a defined process and roles,
you can focus on the violation rather than on determining who has to
be involved and how. Adopting and implementing a violation policy
that encompasses all the issues discussed in this chapter will ensure
that your land trust does not skip any important steps in resolving an
easement violation. A policy also ensures that your land trust response
is disinterested and equitable by creating a consistent standard that is
followed in every violation situation. Such a standard helps prevent
conflicts of interest and preferential treatment of insiders, favorite
landowners and major donors. Preventing conflicts of interest and
adhering to a violation policy that meets Land Trust Standards and
Practices will help you avoid IRS sanctions against your land trust for
conferring private inurement or for failing to enforce easements that
qualified for federal tax benefits.
Managing Conservation Easements in Perpetuity