Download or read book Designing Perpetual Conservation Agreements for Land Management written by Adena R. Rissman and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conservation initiatives on working ranches balance flexibility for land management with restrictions to ensure protection over time. Conservation easements are a common tool for range conservation, but the perpetual nature of their individually negotiated rights and restrictions may present a challenge for adaptive land management. The evolution of conservation easement approaches to land management was addressed in a review of 52 grazing easements created by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in California rangelands between 1973 and 2006 as well as through interviews with TNC staff. Easement terms related to land management increased in complexity over time, particularly for purchased easements on private land. Easements commonly contained restrictions on riparian or wetland management (58%), residual dry matter (50%), and type of animal permitted (46%) but rarely restricted number of cattle or animal unit months (4%). Flexibility was provided by easement terms such as exceptions for drought years and reference to best management practices, the easement holder's administrative discretion, and easement amendment. Interviews with TNC staff revealed an iterative process in which conservation easements remain relatively fixed once they are established, whereas subsequent easements incorporate lessons learned from easement monitoring, enforcement, management, and applicable science. Conservation easements with an adaptive approach would link compliance terms with conservation goals, require monitoring of those terms, and have a mechanism for altering land management based on monitoring results. All three of these realms present challenges for the conservation easement structure. Improvements could be made in easement terms, ecological monitoring, and stewardship to improve the effectiveness and adaptability of this tool for maintaining ecological function on working ranches.

Download or read book Saving the Ranch written by Anthony Anella and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A concise and readable guide to conservation easements for ranchers, conservationists, and developers concerned with protecting the natural and scenic values of ranch lands in the western United States. Shows how ranchers can reduce estate taxes, generate and shelter income, and combine land conservation with estate planning.

Download or read book Advances in Conservation Research and Application 2011 Edition written by and published by ScholarlyEditions. This book was released on 2012-01-09 with total page 695 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Advances in Conservation Research and Application: 2011 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ eBook that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Ecology Environment and Conservation. The editors have built Advances in Conservation Research and Application: 2011 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Ecology Environment and Conservation in this eBook to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Advances in Conservation Research and Application: 2011 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

Download or read book Candidate Conservation Agreements as a Devolutionary Response to Extinction written by Francesca Ortiz and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 99 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1997, the United States Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service announced a draft policy for candidate conservation agreements to preclude the need for listing endangered and threatened species by encouraging private landowners and state and local land management agencies to voluntarily conserve habitat. In exchange, those parties could receive assurances regarding future land use should the species covered in the agreement become listed in the future. However, litigants have challenged the use of candidate conservation agreements and federal management plans as an attempt by the Services to evade their listing duties. This Article argues that a narrow implementation of the candidate conservation agreement policy, in conjunction with appropriate supporting state regulation, can reduce the need for future listings without violating the rules currently set out by the courts. Because states have regulatory power over resident species and the Services are authorized to work with states that have approved wildlife programs, it is possible for the Services to implement the candidate conservation program by devolving their own perceived regulatory authority to the states for implementation. State involvement in candidate conservation agreements will result in the Services being able to step aside and focus their own strained resources on other deserving activities. Although positive results of such a program will take time, in the long run it may lead to improvement in the number of species facing extinction without time enough left for recovery.

Download or read book Setting Priorities for Land Conservation written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1993-02-01 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book responds to a congressional request to evaluated criteria by which land is acquired under the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The committee reviews criteria and procedures by which four agencies acquire lands for conservation; examines the historic, public policy, and scientific bases of criteria and compares them with nongovernmental organizations; and assesses the effectiveness of the agencies in preserving natural resources while achieving agency objectives.

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 The Planner s Guide to Natural Resource Conservation written by Adrian X. Esparza and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-06-12 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much of the country’s recent population growth is situated in exurban areas. By many accounts exurbanization has become the dominant pattern of land development in the country and there is no indication it will slow in the foreseeable future (Theobald 2005; Brown et al. 2005; Glennon and Kretser 2005). By definition, exurban development takes place beyond the metropolitan fringe, often in rural and remote areas. The development of new exurban communities is a growing trend, especially in the West. In this case, developers and homebuilders seek large tracts of land, up to thousands of acres, in rural areas (typically within 50 miles of a large city) where they plan entire communities consisting of commercial, retail and residential land uses. Recreational amenities such as golf courses and hiking/biking trails are often included in these master-planned developments. Our philosophy is reflected in the book’s two objectives. First, we seek to document the extent and impacts of exurban development across the country. At issue is demonstrating why planners and the public-at-large should be concerned about exurbanization. We will demonstrate that even though exurbanization favors amenity rich regions, it affects all areas of the country through the loss of agricultural and grazing lands, impacts to watersheds and land modification. A summary of environmental impacts is presented, including the loss of wildlands and agricultural productivity, land modification, soil erosion, impacts to terrestrial hydrologic systems, the loss of biodiversity, nonnative and endangered species and other topics. Our second aim is to provide readers from diverse (nonscientific) backgrounds with a working knowledge of how and why exurbanization impacts environmental systems. This is accomplished by working closely to ensure contributors follow a specific outline for each chapter. First, contributors will spell out fundamental concepts, principles and processes that apply to their area of expertise (e.g., riparian areas). Contributors will move beyond a cursory understanding of ecological processes without overwhelming readers with the dense material found typically in specialized texts. For this reason, visuals and other support materials will be integral to each chapter. We have chosen contributors carefully based on their record as research scientists and acumen as educators. Second, once the mechanics have been laid out, authors will explain how and why land development in nearby areas influences ecosystems. Issues of interdependency, modification and adaptation, spatial scale and varying time horizons will be featured. Third, contributors will weigh in on the pros and cons of various land-development schemes. Fourth, authors will share their thinking on the merits of conservation devices such as wildlife corridors, open-space requirements and watershed management districts. Finally, each chapter will conclude by identifying pitfalls to avoid and highlighting "best practices" that will mitigate environmental problems or avoid them altogether. In sum, after completing each chapter, readers should have a firm grasp of relevant concepts and processes, an understanding of current research and know how to apply science to land-use decisions.

Download or read book Landowner s Guide to Conservation Easements written by Steven Bick and published by Kendall Hunt. This book was released on 2003-05-23 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Conservation Easement Stewardship Guide written by Brenda Lind and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book A Tax Guide to Conservation Easements written by C. Timothy Lindstrom and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2012-09-26 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Voluntary land conservation, resulting from increasingly alluring tax benefits, has significantly changed the face of land use in the United States and promises to have an even more significant influence in the future. There are more than 1,500 land trusts in the U.S. today, involving millions of acres of land that have been permanently protected by conservation easements. Most of these land trusts depend heavily upon the significant income or estate tax benefits offered by the federal tax code as an incentive for voluntary land conservation. However, only a very small percentage of land trust personnel, landowners or their advisors, or even government officials, fully understand the complexity of the requirements for these tax benefits. This is a comprehensive book on the tax benefits of the charitable contribution, or bargain sale, of a conservation easement. It provides a detailed explanation of the complex and extensive requirements of the federal tax code and related concepts, including the rules governing the operation of tax-exempt organizations such as land trusts. Clearly written, systematic in its coverage, it is intended to be of value for anyone who deals with land trust issues, including land trust staff and trustees, landowners, lawyers, accountants, government officials, and interested lay people. Structured for easy reference, A Tax Guide to Conservation Easements is designed to be used as a resource tool. Related topics are cross-referenced throughout. All principles in the book are illustrated with one or more useful examples. The tax benefits of contributing a conservation easement are unquestionably the heart of voluntary land conservation today. Knowledge of the tax law relating to land trusts and conservation easements is vital to properly establishing and managing land trusts and to insuring the tax deductibility of conservation easements. The future of voluntary land conservation is dependent on a clear understanding of tax policy. Complete, meticulous, and up to date, A Tax Guide to Conservation Easements is an essential handbook.

Download or read book Applying Nature s Design written by Anthony Bennett Anderson and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human actions are fragmenting habitats throughout the world. To address this problem, conservationists have set up biological corridors, areas of land set aside to facilitate the movement of species and ecological processes. This book offers an overview of the design and effectiveness of these corridors.

Download or read book Conservation Covenants written by Great Britain. Law Commission and published by Stationery Office/Tso. This book was released on 2014 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this report, the Law Commission make recommendations for the introduction of a new statutory scheme of conservation covenants in England and Wales. The recommendations to introduce such a scheme would create a new legal tool, enabling landowners to protect land in order to conserve and restore our natural and built environment. Conservation covenants would allow landowners voluntarily to create binding obligations on their own land to meet a conservation objective, such as preserving woodland, cultivating a particular species of plant or protecting a habitat for an animal, or farming land in a certain way. The proposed statutory scheme would give individual landowners the opportunity, using private agreements, to contribute to conservation efforts being made across England and Wales. The scheme will create a versatile, simple and cost-effective legal tool capable of: unlocking currently missed conservation opportunities by overcoming the legal difficulties faced when creating binding obligations; facilitating better ways to deliver existing conservation objectives; and providing assurance of long-term conservation benefits. The report includes a draft Conservation Covenants Bill, which would introduce the conservation covenant scheme into the law of England and Wales.

Download or read book Defining the Role of Conservation in Agricultural Conservation Easements written by Jess R. Phelps and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Farmland preservation has become an important pursuit for those seeking to protect the working landscape against conversion to non-agricultural use. One of the most common approaches for securing this protection is through the targeted use of agricultural conservation easements, typically perpetual land use agreements designed to limit incompatible activities in order to preserve future agricultural viability. There is, however, a growing tension within these perpetual agreements, particularly between the need to allow farmers substantial flexibility to adjust to future business conditions and the desire to protect significant non-economic values, including the conservation and environmental benefits that these lands also provide. It is the purpose of this Article to evaluate the role of conservation efforts within this overall framework and to evaluate the potential options for securing greater protection of these important rural amenities.To this end, Part II of this Article explores the various motivations that fuel farmland preservation nationwide. Part III discusses the evolution of farm policy towards its current degree of multifunctionality and the corresponding development and use of agricultural conservation easements as the preferred protective mechanism. Part IV addresses the growing tension within these agreements as agricultural practice continues to evolve. Last, Part V investigates the various approaches that can be used to protect the environmental attributes of protected agricultural lands. Ultimately, agricultural conservation easements will always require a balance between allowing flexibility for accommodating future needs and protecting rural amenities, but these agreements should actually result in a balance and ensure that the increasingly important conservation and environmental benefits associated with the working landscape are being adequately protected.

Download or read book Guidelines for Protected Areas Legislation written by Barbara J. Lausche and published by IUCN. This book was released on 2011 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The central aim of this publication is to consider the key elements of a modern, comprehensive, and effective legal framework for successful management of protected areas. They provide practical guidance for all those involved in developing, improving, or reviewing national legislation on protected areas, be they legal drafters and practitioners, protected area managers, interested NGOs, or scholars. These guidelines include fifteen case studies, eight dealing with the protected area legislation of individual countries and six cases dealing with specific sites providing fundamental solutions that stand the test of time.

Download or read book Conservation Easements written by David J. Dietrich and published by American Bar Association. This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conservation easements permit the use of land to be donated or sold as part of an estate plan. For those considering an easement donation or sale, an understanding of the statutory, regulatory, and common-law principles involved is imperative, as well as a working knowledge of how to use the available resources in this complex field. This hands-on guide features an invaluable collection of techniques and drafting tips learned from decades of conservation easement practice plus four actual conservation easements.

Download or read book Reinventing Conservation Easements written by Jeff Pidot and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No recent happening in land conservation rivals the rapid expansion of conservation easements and the related growth in the number of land trusts over the past 15 years. Among the forces driving this phenomenon are tax and other public subsidies and the view that the conservation easement is a win-win strategy in land protection. The thesis of this policy focus report is that conservation easements are a valuable land protection tool, complementing regulation, land acquisition, and tax policies, but that reforms are needed in tax and other laws and conventions governing easements, lest we risk losing the public benefits for which the easements were established.

Download or read book Land Conservation Through Public Private Partnerships written by Eve Endicott and published by . This book was released on 1993-05 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Land Conservation Through Public/Private Partnerships demonstrates the broad array of circumstances under which cooperation between the public and private sectors can significantly improve land conservation efforts. This book is essential reading for anyone concerned with the preservation of our rapidly diminishing open landscapes.