Perpetual Trusts, Conservation Servitudes, and the Problem of the Future

Private wealth-protecting perpetual trusts and environment-protecting conservation servitudes share the problem that both are long-term property arrangements that are likely to last far longer than the ability of their creators to predict what the future will bring. Existing doctrines can be used and extended to solve many problems that are likely to arise, but more will be needed. For conservation servitudes, more attention should be given to protecting the public interest against collusive terminations by action of a developer and the servitude holder and against retention of conservation servitudes of marginal value when the land is needed for other uses of benefit to the community.