Managing Conservation Easements in Perpetuity - Environmental ...

dispute (the conservation easement or the protected land). Simply
owning land next to an easement property is not usually enough to
give a person standing to sue to enforce the easement. Limitations on
standing by courts usually include:
• A general prohibition on a person addressing another person’s
legal rights
• A rule against judicial remedies for grievances without a direct
connection to the complainant
• The requirement that a plaintiff ’s complaint fall within the
zone of interests protected by the law invoked
• A requirement that concrete injury has occurred
The Uniform Conservation Easement Act (UCEA) provides the
framework for many state conservation easement statutes and enabling
legislation for conservation easement transactions. The UCEA recognizes
three categories of conservation easement enforcers:
• The owner of an interest in conserved land
• The holder of the conservation easement
• A person possessing a third-party enforcement right
These three categories are derived from the language and terms of a
particular conservation easement. In addition, the UCEA acknowledges
that state laws may give other third parties enforcement rights.
An example of a state law conferring standing through statute or
common law is the right of an attorney general to enforce a conservation
easement in his or her capacity as supervisor of charitable trusts
for the state (in a state in which a conservation easement is construed
as a charitable trust). Another example is the state of Illinois, where
the statute grants neighbors within 500 feet of any conserved land the
right to enforce conservation easements.
If a land trust is unable or unwilling to enforce the conservation easement
against a landowner or third-party violator, or is perceived by a
third-party enforcer to be unwilling or unable to enforce its easements,
then the third-party enforcement right may be available. States that
have adopted the UCEA are the most likely to identify rights for thirdparty
enforcement of conservation easements. Among those states
that have not adopted the UCEA, most either are silent or expressly
prohibit a third-party right of enforcement. A few of these have either
passed new legislation or revised their existing conservation easement
Violation Resolution and Easement Defense 309