Managing Conservation Easements in Perpetuity - Environmental ...

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C A S E S T U D Y People close to the Gaynor transaction and subsequent litigation feel that this litigation was both unavoidable and surprising. The landowner became angry over a decade after the transaction and had the resources to vent his antagonism on the land trust. This type of litigation may be unpredictable for land trusts. It is also an example of how retaining records that clearly and unambiguously show intent was critical to the land trust. 50 Managing Conservation Easements in Perpetuity
Document Management Labeling Records Another essential part of any records procedure is determining how your land trust creates and labels its records. Your land trust’s naming and numbering system should be used for all paper and electronic records, as well as databases, so you can access all records systems consistently and rapidly. If your land trust faithfully follows it naming and numbering system, it can improve its stewardship efforts significantly. Label your materials! It may seem obvious that a photograph is of Samantha Yoder’s northwest field last summer, but it may not be obvious to the stewardship director 100 years from now.If you find the field paved over during a yearly monitoring visit, the best way to prove its former condition is an authenticated photograph and written description. From a legal defense viewpoint, accurate identification of records and the data they contain is critical. Proper labeling will also save time (and money). For example, labeling your backup electronic storage files with the general contents and date will relieve you (or your successor) of hours reading the contents of electronic storage files. Many land trusts use databases to manage their stewardship obligations. As the complexity of databases increases, so does the need to clearly identify everything in the databases. A good naming convention makes that task possible. Following the guidelines below will help when naming documents, files and database tables: • Keep names simple, but with enough information to distinguish the file from others with the same or similar name. • If you use the names of landowners, consider how you will adapt the system when landownership changes. Is it important that the file names and database reflect current ownership? Or would you prefer the original landowner’s name to be the identifier for that file forever? • Think about how you use the files and refer to them in conversation, and use those names. • For databases, delete spaces in names. • Eliminate symbols (for example, ♣ or ¥). • Eliminate reserved keywords such as “date,”“text,”“time.” • Use descriptive names. • Capitalize the first letter of each word (compare the Recordkeeping 51
Page 1: Managing Conservation Easements in
Page 4 and 5: Managing Conservation Easements in
Page 6 and 7: The Land Trust Alliance’s mission
Page 8 and 9: C O N T Acknowledgments · 5 A Note
Page 10 and 11: C O N T E N T S Violation Resolutio
Page 13 and 14: When a land trust accepts a conserv
Page 15 and 16: Eternity is a long time. Especially
Page 17 and 18: Course Road Map This course covers
Page 19: Course Resources This course includ
Page 22 and 23: Everyone is responsible for good re
Page 24 and 25: 22 4. Consider costs and capacity w
Page 26 and 27: The long-term health and success of
Page 28 and 29: 26 recordkeeping system that includ
Page 30 and 31: At a minimum, a land trust should k
Page 32 and 33: In addition to your land trust’s
Page 34 and 35: 32 to serve owners of conserved lan
Page 36 and 37: 34 Post-Closing Easement Stewardshi
Page 38 and 39: Transparent and ethical procedures
Page 40 and 41: 38 final wording of the clause. The
Page 42 and 43: 40 certain documents, such as lette
Page 44 and 45: 42 able people depending on life ex
Page 46 and 47: Proper record destruction maintains
Page 48 and 49: Recordkeeping practices are essenti
Page 50 and 51: C A S E S T U D Y When the house wa
Page 54 and 55: Every project file should have a un
Page 56 and 57: 54 project; -00 identifies the firs
Page 58 and 59: Do not store permanent files — ev
Page 60 and 61: Example 58 Combination system. Seve
Page 62 and 63: 60 Retrieving Documents Documents n
Page 64 and 65: Hearsay is like children playing th
Page 66 and 67: 64 trust prepares. A commitment to
Page 68 and 69: 66 Essential Conservation Documents
Page 70 and 71: 68 For more information on drafting
Page 72 and 73: 70 for admitting GIS-driven maps in
Page 74 and 75: P U T T I N G I T I N T O P R A C T
Page 100 and 101: Statute of limitations: The maximum
Page 102 and 103:
100 Evaluate Your Knowledge Answer
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102 Guidance 1. A written records p
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104 Conclusion Recordkeeping is an
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106 management system, a database t
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Brandywine Conservancy: Conservatio
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Mountain Conservation Trust of GA:
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Page 116 and 117:
Page 118 and 119:
VLT: Conservation Stewardship Progr
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VLT: Computer Document File Structu
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MALT: Records Management Policy All
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MALT: Records Management Policy 122
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MALT: Records Management Policy Mon
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Greensboro Land Trust: Statement of
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CLC: Record-keeping Policy 128 COLU
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CLC: Record-keeping Policy next reg
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CLC: Record-keeping Policy • Insp
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CLC: Record-keeping Policy 4. Trade
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VLT: Recordkeeping System Examples
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VLT: Recordkeeping System Examples
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140 Additional Resources “The Adm
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142 Check Your Progress Before movi
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Chapter Two • Amendments Otis B.
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• Understand the different kinds
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Conservation easement amendments in
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deal with conflicts of interest in
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The challenge for each land trust w
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source can be invaluable in these c
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to add acreage or correct scrivener
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Organizational and Governance Docum
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Guidance on Completing IRS Form 990
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other words, these prohibitions app
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the unique and significant size of
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Islands. The states are Alabama, Al
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to agree with the owner of the encu
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are respected in other states. Your
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should consult with experienced leg
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e added up to reach a decision; for
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State Nonprofit Law Requirements St
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protected conservation values and t
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Principles 5, 6 and 7 tie the amend
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No amendment policy should be more
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easement or the amendment in a four
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context in which a land trust opera
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make a recommendation to the board
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Table 2-3: Land Trust Capacity and
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These are subjects that require leg
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3. Negotiating with the landowner.
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Consulting with State Officials The
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Conservation Easement Amendments Th
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Scenario 2: Excessive Stewardship O
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Scenario 3: Weighing Impacts to Con
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Scenario 2: Excessive Stewardship O
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Drafting Easements with Amendments
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Easement Amendment Provisions Part
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the protected property is located.
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ary, these less permanent approache
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Discretionary Waiver A discretionar
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Looking Ahead: The Future of Easeme
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Easement Amendments This exercise m
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• Not result in private inurement
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V. Amendment Procedures [page 186]
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Insert the date of the policy and t
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communicating a clear process in si
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• Applied its existing conflict o
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5. Can describe two ways that your
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Conclusion Although conservation ea
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considering an amendment and the po
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I. General Policy Statement GVLT: C
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cost agreement will be developed an
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VLT Amendment Principles and Consid
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Sample Language Permitting Amendmen
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hereby approved and will not be dee
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May 23, 2006 name address town re:
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If you have any questions, please c
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“Hicks v. Dowd: The End of Perpet
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Check Your Progress Before moving o
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256 • Describe the role of variou
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258 Adoption and implementation of
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260 the landowner on the land, you
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Adopting and implementing an easeme
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A violation resolution policy holds
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IRS Form 990 and Easement Violation
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268 WCLT learned that having a thou
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If you make public detailed violati
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Collecting and sharing violation in
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Moderate and major violations go to
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Violation policies should contain a
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The key to discovering easement vio
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Recordkeeping is essential to effec
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Extra precautions need to be taken
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Third-party violator: A person or e
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The person designated to talk with
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Knowing When You Have to Go to the
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290 first. This letter caused the l
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Mediation: The act of an impartial
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All conservation easements should i
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Third-party enforcer: A person or e
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298 with respect to the conservatio
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300 like posture, you will be more
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Example 302 state. If the best cour
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Avoid placing mandatory arbitration
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306 a landowner is harvesting timbe
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308 Combined Approach Often you wil
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Your land trust’s legal rights ma
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Many land trusts create one dedicat
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Land trusts may need to rethink cur
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P U T T I N G I T I N T O P R A C T
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Waiver: The intentional or voluntar
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Page 326 and 327:
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Quiet title action: A lawsuit broug
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T E M P L A T E You should refrain
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T E M P L A T E In determining the
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T E M P L A T E Sample Language The
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T E M P L A T E other violation res
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C A S E S T U D Y called VLT to rep
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C A S E S T U D Y Guidance Vermont
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342 4. Can list four alternatives t
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344 2. Violation resolution princip
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346 6. Essential violation document
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348 Sample Documents The following
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Dutchess Land Conservancy: Conserva
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Page 356 and 357:
Page 358 and 359:
MALT: Easement Violation Policy 3.
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MCTGA: Procedure for Enforcement of
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MCTGA: Procedure for Enforcement of
Page 364 and 365:
TRLT: Easement Enforcement Guidelin
Page 366 and 367:
VLT: Easement Enforcement Flow Char
Page 368 and 369:
VLT: Easement Enforcement Flow Char
Page 370 and 371:
VLT: Conservation Stewardship Progr
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VLT: Quick Answers to Assist You wi
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VLT: Stewardship’s FAQs VLT LANDO
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VLT: Stewardship’s FAQs VLT LANDO
Page 378 and 379:
376 Guidebook for Directors of Nonp
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378 Check Your Progress Before comp
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380 • Develop an amendment policy
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Glossary Administrative deviation d
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the property worthy of permanent co
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Policy: A specific course of action
Page 391 and 392:
Index arbitration 266, 292, 294, 30
Page 394:
Governance Mission, Planning and Ca
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