Download or read book Amending Perpetual Conservation Easements Confronting the Dilemmas of Change written by Darby Bradley and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As conservation easements age, land trusts have begun to confront changed circumstances that they could not have anticipated when the easements were drafted, and under which an amendment may serve conservation or other public interests. These may involve changes in law, species, technology, community needs, or even climate. The questions to be asked are: What criteria should be used to determine whether an easement amendment would be appropriate? What process should be used to make that determination? Who decides? The land trust community is divided over whether or not easements are charitable trusts, which can only be amended with a court’s approval. This paper explores the legal, ethical, and public relations issues surrounding amendments and the limitations of applying the charitable trust doctrine. It proposes a legislative solution to clarify the rules for amending easements in response to changed circumstances.

Download or read book Amending and Terminating Perpetual Conservation Easements written by Nancy A. McLaughlin and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Until fairly recently, little consideration had been given to precisely what it means to protect land 'in perpetuity' with a conservation easement. But as perpetual conservation easements have begun to age, and the protected lands have begun to change hands, questions have arisen regarding the circumstances under which these instruments can be amended or terminated. This short article outlines the current guidance on this issue and offers some drafting suggestions.

Download or read book Rethinking the Perpetual Nature of Conservation Easements written by Nancy A. McLaughlin and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the use of perpetual conservation easements as a land protection tool has grown, so have concerns regarding whether, when, and how such easements may be modified or terminated to respond to changed conditions. This Article argues that the charitable trust doctrine of cy pres should apply to donated conservation easements and, if interpreted as suggested, can provide a principled means of modifying or extinguishing easements that have ceased to provide public benefits sufficient to justify their continued enforcement (or have even arguably become detrimental to the public). The Article argues that a landowner should be viewed as striking the following "cy pres bargain" with the public upon the donation of an easement - the landowner should be permitted to exercise dead hand control over the use of the property encumbered by the easement, but only so long as the easement continues to provide benefits to the public sufficient to justify its enforcement. If, due to changed conditions, the continued protection of the encumbered land for the conservation purposes specified in the easement deed becomes "impossible or impracticable," a court should apply the doctrine of cy pres to restore the appropriate balance between the landowner's desire to exercise dead hand control, and society's interest in ensuring that charitable assets continue to provide benefits to the public. In cases where the donor evidenced a particularly strong personal attachment to the encumbered land and the continued protection of that land for a different conservation purpose is feasible, a court could apply the doctrine of cy pres to modify the easement to change its conservation purpose while continuing to protect the underlying land. Alternatively, in cases where the donor did not evidence a particularly strong personal attachment to the encumbered land, or where the continued protection of that land for a different conservation purpose is not feasible, a court could apply the doctrine of cy pres to extinguish the easement, authorize the sale of the unencumbered land, and direct that the proceeds attributable to the easement be used to accomplish the donor's specified conservation purposes in another location.

Download or read book Amending Perpetual Conservation Easements written by Nancy A. McLaughlin and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Federal and state legisla ...

Download or read book A Changing Landscape written by Laurie Ristino and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Softbound - New, softbound print book.

Download or read book Conservation Easements at the Climate Change Crossroads written by Jessica Owley and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The essence of a conservation easement as a static perpetual restriction is coming to a head with the understanding that the world is a changing place. This demonstration is nowhere more dramatic than in the context of global climate change. In response to this conflict, users of conservation easements face the decision of either (1) changing conservation easement agreements to fit the landscape or (2) changing the landscape to fit the conservation easements. Both of these options present benefits and challenges in implementation. Where conservation easement holders' ultimate goal is to keep a maximum number of acres under protection from development, flexible conservation easements may present a viable and attractive method of protection. Where a specific conservation value or habitat is the concern, active management of the land may be more appropriate. As a further complication, both of these options are at odds with the essential nature of conservation easements. These conflicts lead to a third option: making different decisions about where and how to use conservation easements. This would likely lead to the conclusion that conservation easements are only desirable in a narrower category of purposes. This is, of course, dismaying to champions of conservation easements. Unfortunately, ensuring the long-term viability of conservation easements may entail omitting the very features that give conservation easements their strength.

Download or read book Amending Conservation Easements written by Land Trust Alliance and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Conservation Easements written by Nancy A. McLaughlin and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Perpetual conservation easements are intended to protect the particular land they encumber for the conservation purposes specified in the deed of conveyance in perpetuity, or at least until circumstances have changed so profoundly that continued protection of the land for those purposes is no longer feasible. To protect the public interest and investment in perpetual conservation easements, and, at the same time, permit adjustments to be made to respond to changing conditions, such easements should be treated like any other form of charitable asset acquired by a government or charitable entity for a particular charitable purpose - i.e., as subject to equitable charitable trust principles. This Article outlines the considerable support for applying charitable trust principles to perpetual conservation easements, including uniform laws, the Restatement of Property, federal tax law, and judicial activity on this issue to date. This Article cautions that perpetual land protection is not appropriate in all circumstances and recommends a more considered use of perpetual conservation easements as a land protection tool. This article also explores the possible use of a number of nonperpetual conservation easements to accomplish land protection goals.

Download or read book A Good Tax written by Joan Youngman and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In A Good Tax, tax expert Joan Youngman skillfully considers how to improve the operation of the property tax and supply the information that is often missing in public debate. She analyzes the legal, administrative, and political challenges to the property tax in the United States and offers recommendations for its improvement. The book is accessibly written for policy analysts and public officials who are dealing with specific property tax issues and for those concerned with property tax issues in general.

Download or read book State Trust Lands in the West written by Peter W. Culp and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensive report offers state trust land managers the latest strategies and tools for asset management, residential and commercial development, conservation use, and collaborative planning. Land managers will learn how to fulfill their trust responsibilities while producing larger revenues for trust beneficiaries, accommodating public interests, and more. This is a revised edition of a report originally published in 2006.

Download or read book America s Private Forests written by Constance Best and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2013-02-22 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nearly 430 million acres of forests in the United States are privately owned, but the viability, and indeed the very existence, of these forests is increasingly threatened by population growth, sprawling urbanization, and patchwork development. Scientists, policymakers, and community leaders have begun to recognize the vital role of private forests in providing society with essential goods and services, from sustainable timber supplies to clean water. Yet despite the tremendous economic and ecological importance of private forests, information about their status and strategies for their protection have been in short supply. America's Private Forests addresses that shortcoming, presenting extensive data gathered from diverse sources and offering a concise overview of the current status of privately owned forests in the United States. As well as describing the state of private forests, the book sets forth detailed information on a wide range of approaches to conservation along with an action agenda for implementing those strategies likely to be most effective. The book: identifies the major threats to private forests in the United States considers barriers to conservation outlines the available tools and programs for promoting conservation presents a "road map" to guide collective efforts for the conservation of private forests and their native biodiversity Based on extensive research of existing literature as well as interviews and consultation with leading forestry and conservation experts, America's Private Forests is a unique sourcebook that offers a solid basis for discussion of threats to private forests along with an invaluable compendium of potential solutions. It will serve as an invaluable reference for all those working to conserve and steward forest resources, including forest owners and their consultants, conservation organizations, and agency personnel, as well as researchers and students involved with issues of forestry, biodiversity, land use, and conservation.

Download or read book Military Government in the Ryukyu Islands 1945 1950 written by Arnold G. Fisch and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Military government on Okinawa from the first stages of planning until the transition toward a civil administration.

Download or read book Subdivision Design and Flood Hazard Areas written by James Schwab and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sustainability, resilience, and climate change are top of mind for planners and floodplain managers. For subdivision design, those ideas haven't hit home. The results? Catastrophic flood damage in communities across the country. This PAS Report is out to end the cycle of build-damage-rebuild and bring subdivision design into line with the best of floodplain planning. Readers will get the tools they need to save lives, protect property, and lay the foundation for a better future.

Download or read book Conservation and Biodiversity Banking written by Ricardo Bayon and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2012-04-27 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The conservation of biodiversity is now big business. Whether called conservation banking, species banking, habitat banking, biodiversity banking, biodiversity offsets, compensatory mitigation or ecological footprint offsetting, the idea of financially valuing biodiversity and using the market and businesses to promote conservation is growing rapidly. This handbook is a comprehensive guide to conservation banking, explaining what it is and how it works. Written by leading ecosystem market experts, the book provides practical guidance, tools, case studies, analysis and insights into conservation banking and other market-based approaches to conservation. Coverage includes the origins of conservation banking, the pros and cons for conservation, how conservation banking works in reality, the legal, practical and financial aspects of setting up and running a conservation bank and how 'biodiversity off-sets' can be internationalized. Published with Ecosystem Marketplace

Download or read book Protecting the Land written by Julie Ann Gustanski and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 612 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a property owner and a conservation organization, generally a private nonprofit land trust, that restricts the type and amount of development that can be undertaken on that property. Conservation easements protect land for future generations while allowing owners to retain property rights, at the same time providing them with significant tax benefits. Conservation easements are among the fastest growing methods of land preservation in the United States today. Protecting the Land provides a thoughtful examination of land trusts and how they function, and a comprehensive look at the past and future of conservation easements. The book: provides a geographical and historical overview of the role of conservation easements analyzes relevant legislation and its role in achieving community conservation goals examines innovative ways in which conservation easements have been used around the country considers the links between social and economic values and land conservation Contributors, including noted tax attorney and land preservation expert Stephen Small, Colorado's leading land preservation attorney Bill Silberstein, and Maine Coast Heritage Trust's general counsel Karin Marchetti, describe and analyze the present status of easement law. Sharing their unique perspectives, experts including author and professor of geography Jack Wright, Dennis Collins of the Wildlands Conservancy, and Chuck Roe of the Conservation Trust of North Carolina offer case studies that demonstrate the flexibility and diversity of conservation easements. Protecting the Land offers a valuable overview of the history and use of conservation easements and the evolution of easement-enabling legislation for professionals and citizens working with local and national land trusts, legal advisors, planners, public officials, natural resource mangers, policymakers, and students of planning and conservation.

Download or read book Restoring Natural Capital written by James Aronson and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2012-09-26 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can environmental degradation be stopped? How can it be reversed? And how can the damage already done be repaired? The authors of this volume argue that a two-pronged approach is needed: reducing demand for ecosystem goods and services and better management of them, coupled with an increase in supply through environmental restoration. Restoring Natural Capital brings together economists and ecologists, theoreticians, practitioners, policy makers, and scientists from the developed and developing worlds to consider the costs and benefits of repairing ecosystem goods and services in natural and socioecological systems. It examines the business and practice of restoring natural capital, and seeks to establish common ground between economists and ecologists with respect to the restoration of degraded ecosystems and landscapes and the still broader task of restoring natural capital. The book focuses on developing strategies that can achieve the best outcomes in the shortest amount of time as it: • considers conceptual and theoretical issues from both an economic and ecological perspective • examines specific strategies to foster the restoration of natural capital and offers a synthesis and a vision of the way forward Nineteen case studies from around the world illustrate challenges and achievements in setting targets, refining approaches to finding and implementing restoration projects, and using restoration of natural capital as an economic opportunity. Throughout, contributors make the case that the restoration of natural capital requires close collaboration among scientists from across disciplines as well as local people, and when successfully executed represents a practical, realistic, and essential tool for achieving lasting sustainable development.

Download or read book Conservation Catalysts written by James N. Levitt and published by Lincoln Inst of Land Policy. This book was released on 2014 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This multi-author volume explores large-landscape conservation projects catalyzed by colleges, universities, independent field stations, and research organizations around the world. These initiatives are grand-scale, cross-boundary, cross-sectoral, and cross-disciplinary efforts to protect working and wild landscapes and waterscapes in Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Kenya, Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago, and the United States"--