Acquisition of Land & Easements

An Act amending the act of January 19, 1968 (1967 P. L. 992, No. 442), entitled "An act authorizing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the counties thereof to preserve, acquire or hold land for open space uses," expanding its scope to include all local government units throughout this Commonwealth.

This guide is designed to provide land trusts with insight into understanding Trout Unlimited chapters and programs, and how TU supports land conservation and land trusts in conserving coldwater streams and watersheds. By partnering with land trusts, TU can better help protect and restore critical coldwater fisheries habitat.

This guide covers everything a TU grassroots volunteer needs to know about working with land trusts. Starting with the whats and hows of land trust operations, the handbook also covers the details of conservation easements and TU’s role in their creation, public angling access, funding and technical support, and communicating with landowners.

Within the bounds of state law and private standards of practice, nonprofit organizations have considerable flexibility in establishing policies and procedures regarding the authorization of real estate transactions. WeConservePA guide. 6 pages.

Evaluates and compares eight land preservation mechanisms based on their ability to achieve conservation goals, their cost, their ability to respond to future changes, and several other criteria selected to highlight the practical advantages and disadvantages of each mechanism.

Holsapple, Clyde W., Whinston, Andrew B., eds., Decision Support Systems: Theory and Application, NATO ASI Series, Series F: Computer and Systems Sciences, Vol. 31, Springer ,Verlag, Germany, 1987. Journal of Applied Ecology (2007) 44, 253-262

Has your land trust ever struggled with deciding whether or not to accept a conservation easement? Ever regretted accepting an easement? Think your project planning process could be improved but not sure where to start? After reading this book, you will know the important elements of a site visit and how to use data gathered from the site visit for baseline documentation reports or management plans. You will learn how to create customized acquisition criteria and project planning forms. Practices Covered: 8B-Project Selection and Criteria; 8G-Project Planning; 8D-Public Benefit of Transactions; 8E-Site Inspection

This document was developed by Brandywine Conservancy to share with prospective landowners and explain the many important legal and financial issues that a prospective easement donor should consider.

In-depth introduction to tools, programs, partners and other resources for Minnesota landowners who want to preserve their land. Explains options such as easements, deed restrictions, and mutual covenants in lay terms. Includes landowner profiles, a decision-making checklist, and tax and land management considerations.

This document is one of a series of fact sheets and reference materials produced by the Land Trust Alliance.

In Pennsylvania, local governments may give money, land and easements to land trusts. WeConservePA guide. 2 pages.

Presentation/handouts relating to transmission lines/condemnation issues

Presentation regarding land preservation and treated sewage application

Many conservation-related property transactions are excluded from having to pay state and local realty transfer taxes in Pennsylvania. WeConservePA guide. 6 pages.

Some real property is substantially riskier than other property for an organization to hold and manage, perhaps because of environmental contamination (or suspicion of the same), perhaps because of more intense public use, perhaps for some other reason. Depending on just how great the perceived risk, the organization may want to consider isolating its exposure to that risk by establishing a separate organization—wholly controlled by the founding organization—to hold the riskier property. WeConservePA guide. 3 pages.

Publication of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

The National Conservation Easement Database (NCED) is a national database of conservation easement information, compiling records from land trusts and public agencies throughout the United States.

A family or group of neighbors may want to limit future use of a property, but that desire may not be shared as a priority by conservation organizations or government. In this case, a deed restriction may a sensible—albeit imperfect—tool that the private individuals can use on their own to achieve limited protection of the land. A 2-page guide.