library.weconservepa.org

[Updated Guide] Overview of Pennsylvania’s Recreational Use of Land and Water Act

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 19:43:35 GMT

The Act limits the liability of property owners and managers when individuals enter land for recreational purposes, protecting against claims of personal injury and property loss.

[Updated Library] Overview of Pennsylvania’s Recreational Use of Land and Water Act

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 21:07:40 GMT

A brief review of the landowner protections provided by the Act against claims of personal injury or property loss by recreational users of their land. (WeConservePA's 11-page guide, Pennsylvania’s Recreational Use of Land and Water Act, provides an in-depth review of the same subject.) WeConservePA guide. 2 pages

[Updated Library] Pennsylvania's Recreational Use of Land and Water Act: A Law Limiting the Liability of Those Who Open Their Land to the Public

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 15:45:35 GMT

The Recreational Use of Land and Water Act limits the liability of property owners regarding claims of personal injury and property damage when people enter their land for recreational purposes. This guide offers an in-depth analysis of the Act and explains its significance for private and public landowners. WeConservePA guide. 11 pages.

[Updated Guide] Pennsylvania's Recreational Use of Land and Water Act

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 15:03:15 GMT

[New Library] Lawn Equipment Electrification: Leaf Blower Regulations

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 15:55:09 GMT

This ordinance restricting the use of gas powered leaf blowers in Lower Merion Township was adopted at the November 19, 2025 Board of Commissioners meeting.

Key provisions:

Use restrictions apply to all persons and entities, including residents, commercial landscapers, contractors, and property maintenance personnel, on all properties within the Township.
2026: The use of gas powered leaf blowers will not be allowed from June 1 to October 1 .
2027: The use of gas powered leaf blowers will not be allowed from January 1 to April 1, nor from June 1 to October 1.
2028: The use of gas powered leaf blowers will not be allowed from January 1 to October 1.
Beginning January 1, 2029 and for every year thereafter, the use of gas powered leaf blowers will be prohibited for the entire year.
The use of electric-powered leaf blowers is allowed all year.
Use of gas powered generators to run corded electric leaf blowers or charge electric leaf blower batteries will not be allowed.

[Updated Library] Model Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants

Sat, 14 Feb 2026 02:15:33 GMT

The Model Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants provides users with a state-of-the-art legal document together with an expansive commentary. Built on practitioner experiences and feedback, no easement document in the nation has benefited from more cycles of peer review. Download both the model and the commentary. The commentary explains the reasoning behind every provision, instructs on use of the model, and provides a wealth of alternative and optional provisions. The model was last updated in September 2025 and the commentary in February 2026. (The model and commentary together are 121 pages.)

[Updated Library] Open Space Program Handbook

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 22:11:38 GMT

This is a draft posted for peer review. Finalization of this publication will occur later in 2026. Please send suggestions for improvements to Andy Loza at aloza@weconservepa.org

[New Library] Sample Stewardship Funding Plan

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 21:47:40 GMT

The Sample Stewardship Funding Plan is a tool to help conservation easement holders place greater attention on the challenge of securing sufficient funding commitments to meet their easement stewardship obligations and improve their practices to meet the challenge. The sample also serves as an example of a plan that could meet the stewardship funding plan requirement for a WeConservePA Project Planning Grant. 2 pages.

[Updated Library] CEAP Files

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 16:59:07 GMT

Guidelines and other documents relating to WeConservePA's Conservation Easement Assistance Program

[Updated Guide] Global Positioning System (GPS)

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 23:41:05 GMT

GPS enables users to easily record the location of natural and man-made features on the land. It allows users to identify where a photo or video is taken, revisit previously recorded features, and more.

[Updated Library] Global Positioning System (GPS)

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 23:27:28 GMT

[Updated Guide] Amend OR Amend and Restate

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 22:52:36 GMT

If changes to a conservation easement are necessary or desirable, the easement holder must decide whether to amend and restate the grant of easement in full or simply amend it. This guide assists with that decision and points to resources to aid in implementation of the decision.

[Updated Library] Amend OR Amend and Restate: Matching Approach to Situation When Altering a Conservation Easement

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 22:38:47 GMT

[Updated Library] Model Grant of Right of First Offer

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 21:03:17 GMT

The holder of a right of first offer has the opportunity to purchase land at the landowners’ asking price before other prospective purchasers have an opportunity. An alternative configuration has the holder, rather than the landowners, making the first offer. If the right of first offer is coupled with a right of first negotiation, the holder has the further benefit of time for counterproposals and seeking mutually agreeable terms with the landowners before other bidders make competing offers. This model provides for both rights.

[Updated Library] Model Grant of Right of First Refusal

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 21:01:51 GMT

If an owner intends to accept an offer for the purchase of his or her land, the holder of a right of first refusal has the opportunity to purchase the land at the price and terms offered by the prospective buyer. If the holder of the right declines to purchase on those exact terms, the owner is then free to sell to the prospective buyer. If an owner is willing to commit to providing such a right to an organization, this model is a tool to document and ensure the enforceability of the commitment.

[Updated Guide] Drafting an Amendment and Restatement of a Grant of Conservation Easement

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 14:58:26 GMT

The Model Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants may be used to amend and restate a grant of conservation easement by following the instructions contained in this guide.

[Updated Guide] Drafting an Amendment and Restatement of a Grant of Conservation Easement

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 21:57:23 GMT

The Model Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants may be used to amend and restate a grant of conservation easement by following the instructions contained in this guide.

[Updated Library] Drafting an Amendment and Restatement of a Grant of Conservation Easement

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 17:18:14 GMT

The Model Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants may be used to amend and restate a grant of conservation easement by following the instructions contained in this guide. WeConservePA guide. 7 pages.

[New Glossary] Prescribed Fire

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 17:02:55 GMT

A planned fire—sometimes called a controlled burn—used to manage certain types of landscapes. It reduces the chance of major wildfires and provides numerous other benefits for humans, plants, and wildlife.

[Updated Library] Environmental Advisory Council Handbook: Guidance for Establishing and Operating EACs in Pennsylvania

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 16:30:43 GMT

This handbook contains information on what environmental advisory councils (EACs) are, how they are formed and run, and how they interact with their governing boards and their communities. 27 pages.

[Updated Library] Open Space Program Handbook

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 21:15:32 GMT

This is a draft posted for peer review. Finalization of this publication will occur later in 2026. Please send suggestions for improvements to Andy Loza at aloza@weconservepa.org

[Updated Library] Project Planning Grants

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 16:59:35 GMT

This library item is a repository for key documents used with WeConservePA's Project Planning Grants.

[Updated Library] Environmental Advisory Council Handbook: Guidance for Establishing and Operating EACs in Pennsylvania

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 21:41:05 GMT

This handbook contains information on what environmental advisory councils (EACs) are, how they are formed and run, and how they interact with their governing boards and their communities. 27 pages.

[Updated Guide] Environmental Advisory Council

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 19:25:16 GMT

Any municipality in Pennsylvania may establish an environmental advisory council to tap the skills and volunteer energy of its citizens. Consisting of three to seven members appointed by the local government, an EAC can undertake a variety of conservation projects. It can also research issues and advise local government officials to help inform decision-making regarding the environment.

[Updated Library] Environmental Advisory Council Handbook: Guidance for Establishing and Operating EACs in Pennsylvania

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 19:17:56 GMT

This handbook contains information on what environmental advisory councils (EACs) are, how they are formed and run, and how they interact with their governing boards and their communities. 27 pages.

[Updated Library] Open Space Program Handbook

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 23:11:58 GMT

This is a draft posted for peer review. Finalization of this publication will occur later in 2026. Please send suggestions for improvements to Andy Loza at aloza@weconservepa.org

[New Glossary] Interest in Real Property

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 18:25:38 GMT

The legal rights and claims that a person or entity holds over a piece of land and anything permanently attached to it. This might include owning, occupying, possessing, making use of, excluding others from using, or other rights pertaining to the land.

[New Library] Creating a Micro-Forest: A Step by Step Guide

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 21:41:26 GMT

This 24-page guide details the successful creation of a micro-forest in Easton, Pennsylvania. It presents the protocol used to establish a densely planted forest within a small footprint, mimicking as realistically as possible the early stages of a forest ecosystem which can be adjusted to any region’s indigenous climate. Micro-forests transform otherwise non-productive spaces, be it a lawn or urban vacant lot, into thriving, self-sustaining ecosystems.

[Updated Library] Environmental and Possible Human Health Risks of Artificial Athletic Turf

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 14:40:28 GMT

This 11/10/2025 memo from the Upper Dublin Environmental Protection Advisory Board is an example of the research and reporting role that an environmental advisory council can serve for its municipal government.

[New Library] Environmental and Possible Human Health Risks of Artificial Athletic Turf

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 15:05:27 GMT

[Updated Library] Schuylkill Township Clean Energy Resolution

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 17:16:52 GMT

Resolution adopted by Schuylkill Township affirming the township's commitment to clean energy. Also included is a press release describing how the Schuylkill Township EAC was instrumental in getting the resolution adopted.

[Updated Library] Radnor Township EAC Greenhouse Gas Plan Resolution

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 17:15:31 GMT

A resolution by the Radnor Township Board of Commissioners supporting the Greenhouse Gas Action Plan prepared by the Radnor Township Environmental Advisory Council.

[Updated Library] Model Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 18:07:45 GMT

[Updated Library] Model Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 22:54:58 GMT

[New Guide] The Problem with Non-Perpetual Conservation Easements

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 19:29:13 GMT

Conservation easements that run for a limited term of years are sometimes proposed as interim measures that lead the way to permanence, as better-than-nothing compromises, or simply as flexible alternatives. In reality, these temporary arrangements may cause more problems than they solve and are a poor use of conservation dollars.

[Updated Library] The Problem with Non-Perpetual Conservation Easements

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 19:23:08 GMT

[New Guide] Receiving unsolicited offers to purchase your land?

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 15:32:00 GMT

Receiving unsolicited offers to purchase your land? Proceed with caution.

[New Library] Receiving unsolicited offers to purchase your land?

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 15:19:41 GMT

Receiving unsolicited offers to purchase your land? Proceed with caution. One-page flyer produced by WeConservePA

[Updated Library] Not a Charitable Trust: The Donated Conservation Easement in Pennsylvania

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 14:53:41 GMT

Little evidence exists to support the proposition that a donated conservation easement, in the absence of a charitable trust agreement, is a charitable trust in Pennsylvania; indeed, there is compelling evidence to the contrary. (Holder covenants may be used to buttress easements and do not run into the legal obstacles or suffer from the policy failings of the trust proposition.) WeConservePA guide. 11 pages.

[Updated Library] Delineating Conservation Easement Boundaries and Protection Areas

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 14:49:36 GMT

Properly delineating the boundaries of conservation easements and their different protection areas is crucial to easement stewardship and enforcement. Conservation restrictions are difficult, if not impossible, to enforce unless tied to physical locations on the ground. This guide discusses the delineation of boundaries and protection areas using physical markers, verbal descriptions, and visual depictions. WeConservePA guide. 7 pages.

[Updated Library] Amend OR Amend and Restate: Matching Approach to Situation When Altering a Conservation Easement

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 14:47:05 GMT

[Updated Library] Guide to the Conservation and Preservation Easements Act: Pennsylvania Act 29 of 2001

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 14:45:24 GMT

Conservation organizations can avoid many potential difficulties in conservation easement stewardship by ensuring that their conservation easement documents are drafted to conform with the Conservation and Preservation Easements Act. WeConservePA guide. 7 pages.

[New Library] WeConservePA Participation Agreements

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 20:15:40 GMT

WeConservePA terms of engagement that policy council and board candidates must agree to in order to serve

[Updated Library] Model Naturalized Landscape Ordinance with Commentary

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 20:19:28 GMT

Weed ordinances serve to combat problems associated with neglect. But how can this purpose be balanced with a goal to permit or encourage landowners to embrace ecologically beneficial landscape practices? The Model Naturalized Landscape Ordinance is a tool for achieving this balance.

[Updated Library] Conservation Easements: An Introduction for Private Landowners

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 15:22:10 GMT

A conservation easement limits certain uses of the land to advance identified conservation objectives while keeping the land in the owner’s control. It is established by mutual agreement of the landowner and a nonprofit land trust or government. The easement continues no matter who owns the land in the future. WeConservePA guide. 4 pages.

[Updated Guide] Conservation Easements

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 15:15:19 GMT

[Updated Library] Federal Tax Deductibility of Conservation Easement Donations

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 16:01:10 GMT

Some donations of conservation easements qualify for a federal income tax deduction; others do not.

[Updated Library] Overview of Pennsylvania’s Recreational Use of Land and Water Act

Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:24:50 GMT

[Updated Library] Model Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 17:17:49 GMT

[Updated Library] Model Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 19:44:24 GMT

[Updated Library] The Vascular Flora of Pennsylvania

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 19:08:20 GMT

This volume is the first published product of the Pennsylvania Flora Database, created & maintained at the Morris Arboretum of the Univ. of Pennsylvania. The database has its roots in the work of Edgar T. Wherry, John M. Fogg, Jr., & Herbert A. Wahl, the “Atlas of the Flora of Pennsylvania”, published by the Morris Arboretum. Over a period of 40 years, Wherry & his colleagues gathered data from the major Pennsylvania herbaria & manually placed a quarter of a million dots on over 3500 maps. The Pennsylvania Flora Database retains the emphasis on specimen-based, site-specific data. The checklist of included taxa has undergone extensive review to reflect recent taxonomic & nomenclatural revisions. Questionable specimens have been re-evaluated with the result that several taxa included in earlier works were dropped. Recent discoveries have been added & distribution data has been updated. This vol. also includes collections made in the 1990s in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory (PNDI), the state heritage program. The maps present the accumulated collection of information for each taxon as represented in the herbaria. Illus., reprinted 1996.

[Updated Library] New Model Documents for Conservation Easement Administration

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 20:31:12 GMT

WeConservePA Legal Director Justin Hollinger offered a brief guided tour and answered questioned about the new model legal documents that joined the WeConservePA library (2025).

The Model Compliance Statement that provides conservation easement holders with a well-considered way to provide sellers and buyers of eased land with reasonable assurance that the selling landowner is in good standing, without unreasonably compromising Holder’s enforcement rights.
- Deeper reading: Estoppel Certificates, Compliance Statements, and Conservation Easements
The Model Baseline Documentation Acknowledgement that optimizes the legal effect of baseline documentation by ensuring that all of its content is effectively identified and acknowledged.
- Deeper reading: Baseline Documentation
The Model Policy for Acting on Owner Requests for Review, Waiver, and Interpretation that provides a standard process to guide easement holders when called upon to exercise discretion.
- Deeper reading: Acting on Owner Requests for Review, Waiver, and Interpretation Regarding Conservation Easements
Model Correction to Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants
- Deeper reading: Correcting Errors in Recorded Grants of Conservation Easement

[Updated Guide] Tree Ordinance

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 13:11:04 GMT

A tree ordinance regulates various aspects of tree maintenance, removal, and planting in a municipality, resulting in aesthetic and environmental benefits.

[New Expert] Strategic Consulting Partners

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 20:05:52 GMT

We are a full-service management consulting firm committed to shaping the future of our world by building organizational and leadership capacity. Multiple certifications and contract vehicles make it easy to work with us. Contact us to learn how our services can help your organization.

[Updated Library] Model Correction to Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 16:54:33 GMT

This model provides a simple means to correct what the parties to a conservation easement agree was an error in the previously recorded grant of easement.The guide "Correcting Errors in Recorded Grants of Conservation Easement" includes pointers for using the model.

[New Guide] Correcting Errors in Recorded Grants of Conservation Easement

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 16:43:41 GMT

Correcting an error in a recorded grant of conservation easement differs from amending an easement. This guide helps the reader distinguish between situations where correction is appropriate as contrasted with those calling for amendment. It also serves as a companion to the Model Correction to Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants.

[Updated Library] Correcting Errors in Recorded Grants of Conservation Easement

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 16:34:45 GMT

[New Library] New Model Documents for Conservation Easement Administration

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 14:30:53 GMT

WeConservePA Legal Director Justin Hollinger offered a brief guided tour and answered questioned about the new model legal documents that joined the WeConservePA library (2025).

The Model Compliance Statement that provides conservation easement holders with a well-considered way to provide sellers and buyers of eased land with reasonable assurance that the selling landowner is in good standing, without unreasonably compromising Holder’s enforcement rights.
- Deeper reading: Estoppel Certificates, Compliance Statements, and Conservation Easements
The Model Baseline Documentation Acknowledgement that optimizes the legal effect of baseline documentation by ensuring that all of its content is effectively identified and acknowledged.
- Deeper reading: Baseline Documentation
The Model Policy for Acting on Owner Requests for Review, Waiver, and Interpretation that provides a standard process to guide easement holders when called upon to exercise discretion.
- Deeper reading: Acting on Owner Requests for Review, Waiver, and Interpretation Regarding Conservation Easements
Model Correction to Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants
- Deeper reading: Correcting Errors in Recorded Grants of Conservation Easement

[Updated Library] Adding to Land Under Conservation Easement

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 19:45:42 GMT

A landowner has land under conservation easement and is ready to conserve more of their nearby property. How best to carry this out? This guide describes three approaches and includes a model document to help implement one of the alternatives.

[Updated Library] Model Amendment of Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 19:44:55 GMT

If changes to a conservation easement granting document are necessary or desirable, the easement holder must decide whether to amend and restate the document in full or to amend without restatement. The Model Amendment of Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants is intended for use when the easement holder’s decision is to amend without restatement.

[Updated Library] Model Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 19:44:13 GMT

[New Library] Model Naturalized Landscape Ordinance with Commentary

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 13:52:13 GMT

[New Library] Correcting Errors in Recorded Grants of Conservation Easement

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 12:40:34 GMT

[Updated Library] Model Correction to Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 22:27:44 GMT

[Updated Library] Adding to Land Under Conservation Easement

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 15:12:30 GMT

[New Library] Model Correction to Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 12:23:15 GMT

[Updated Library] Model Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 18:04:20 GMT

[New Library] Ethan Tapper's — What Does it Mean to Love A Forest?

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 14:33:57 GMT

Description
In this talk, Ethan Tapper, a forester, bestselling author and content creator from Vermont, will draw from his work as a forester and his book How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World to discuss what it means to care for forests and other ecosystems at this moment in time. How do we respond to the harmful legacies of the past? How do we use our species’ incredible power to heal rather than to harm? How do we reach toward a better future? In a time in which many believe that “protecting” ecosystems means protecting them from ourselves, Ethan argues that humans must take action to help ecosystems heal and to move into a more abundant future, and that to do so is an act of care and compassion – of love.

Ethan’s message is at once compassionate and pragmatic, clear-eyed and hopeful, sobering and inspiring – a powerful new vision for how we can build a world that works for all of its ecosystems and all of its people.

Speaker
Ethan Tapper, Forester and Author

[Updated Library] An Essential Guide to SWOT Analysis

Fri, 06 Jun 2025 13:25:45 GMT

SWOT is an acronym that stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, & Threats. SWOT analysis is a methodological tool designed to help workers and companies optimize performance, maximize potential, manage competition, and minimize risk. SWOT is about making better decisions, both large and small. It can help determine the efficacy of something as small as introducing a new product or service or something as large as a merger or acquisition. Again, SWOT is a method that, once mastered, can only enhance performance.

[Updated Library] Model Baseline Documentation Acknowledgment with Commentary

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 17:19:14 GMT

The Model Baseline Documentation Acknowledgment helps ensure that baseline documentation materials are properly identified and certified for optimal long-term legal effect, regardless of how they are captured, formatted, or compiled. It does not suggest or prescribe practices for the collection, preparation, compilation, or formatting of baseline documentation or its constituent materials.(Note that the guide Baseline Documentation explains the core purposes and potential secondary functions of baseline documentation, and identifies, in turn, material that is generally necessary, potentially (but not necessarily) useful, and generally inadvisable to include.)

[Updated Guide] Community Visioning

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 14:31:18 GMT

Community visioning is a planning tool that empowers people to express a vision for the future of their community; ideally, this vision guides land-use decisions and regulations.

[Updated Library] Model Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 12:19:36 GMT

[Updated Library] Model Stewardship Funding Covenant with Commentary

Thu, 29 May 2025 19:43:13 GMT

The Model Stewardship Funding Covenant is a tool for making funding arrangements for conservation easement stewardship that are both affordable to landowners and adequate to cover the easement holder's stewardship expenses in the long run. With the model, landowners can stretch a financial commitment over time, either deferring their intended contributions to future dates respectful of their financial situation or extending payment obligations to future owners of the land. The model offers a variety of financial arrangements, from installment payments to private transfer fees, in support of conservation. Download and review both the model and the commentary.

[Updated Library] Model Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants

Wed, 28 May 2025 14:05:08 GMT

[Updated Guide] Legal Considerations for Stewardship Funding Arrangements

Wed, 21 May 2025 19:32:59 GMT

A landowner may agree to funding arrangements that require the landowner or successor owners of an eased property to make one or more payments to the easement holder to support stewardship of the property. An understanding of what makes promises binding is critical for crafting arrangements that are enforceable over time.

[Updated Library] Legal Considerations for Stewardship Funding Arrangements: Binding Present and Future Landowners to Present Promises

Wed, 21 May 2025 19:12:20 GMT

[Updated Guide] Making Restricted Gifts

Tue, 20 May 2025 14:05:02 GMT

Donors of land, cash, or other property may desire to place restrictions on a gift to ensure it is used only for specific purposes. To what extent might such restrictions limit or disallow a charitable tax deduction? What should a donor consider before making a restricted gift?

[New Library] The Problem with Non-Perpetual Conservation Easements

Mon, 19 May 2025 18:38:28 GMT

[Updated Guide] Baseline Documentation

Mon, 05 May 2025 20:24:52 GMT

Baseline documentation is developed in advance of a conservation easement’s establishment to document the condition of the property to be eased. The documentation identifies the conservation values to be protected and provides a baseline against which subsequent changes to the land may be recognized. This guide explores the baseline’s purposes, the content needed to support these purposes, and considerations for implementation.

[New Library] Baseline Documentation

Mon, 05 May 2025 19:35:12 GMT

[Updated Library] Land Protection 101

Mon, 05 May 2025 19:14:15 GMT

Description
New to Land Conservation? Whether you’re a new board member, staff, or volunteer, this session will bring you up to speed on land conservation concepts. Learn the basic tools of the trade – how land trusts responsibly acquire and steward land and easements.

Speakers
Erin McCormick, Senior Director of Land Conservation at Natural Lands
Dawn Gorham, Director of Land Preservation at Wildlands Conservancy

[New Library] Land Protection 101

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 20:18:34 GMT

Speakers
Erin McCormick, Senior Director of Land Conservation at Natural Lands
Dawn Gorham, Director of Land Preservation at Wildlands Conservancy

[Updated Library] Model Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 21:22:09 GMT

[Updated Guide] Enforceability of Restrictions on Division of Eased Land in Pennsylvania

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 18:26:00 GMT

Pennsylvania law and policy robustly support the binding nature of restrictions in grants of conservation easement on both subdivision and transfer of portions of eased land out of the whole. They provide an ironclad basis for the enforcement of these restrictions in court.

[Updated Guide] Subdivision and Transfer Restrictions in Grants of Conservation Easement

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 16:19:16 GMT

Most grants of conservation easement sharply limit the ability of current and future landowners to subdivide or transfer less than the entirety of eased land. This guide explains the substantial conservation value of these restrictions and reviews some considerations for planning exceptions to full prohibitions.

[Updated Guide] Subdivision and Transfer Restrictions in Grants of Conservation Easement

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 18:20:40 GMT

[New Library] Subdivision and Transfer Restrictions in Grants of Conservation Easement

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 18:12:50 GMT

[New Library] Enforceability of Restrictions on Division of Eased Land in Pennsylvania

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 17:22:29 GMT

[Updated Guide] Enforceability of Restrictions on Division of Eased Land in Pennsylvania

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 17:17:59 GMT

[Updated Guide] A Conservation Easement Is Not a Voluntary Agreement

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 16:05:11 GMT

Conservation easements are sometimes referred to as “voluntary agreements.” This characterization is misleading and counterproductive for landowner-holder relations and easement stewardship.

[Updated Library] Land Trust Standards and Practices

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 16:02:57 GMT

Land Trust Standards and Practices are the ethical and technical guidelines for the responsible operation of a land trust. First published in 1989, they were updated in 1993, 2001, 2004, and 2017. They are a collective product of the land trust community; more than 1,600 comments were received from conservationists during preparation of the 2017 edition.

[Updated Library] A Guided Tour of the Conservation Easement Enabling Statutes

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 15:56:24 GMT

PAYWALL: First published in 2010 and updated in 2014 and 2023, this report compares and contrasts the conservation easement enabling statutes enacted across the United States and discusses the key issues addressed and not addressed by these statutes. Land Trust Alliance membership is required to view the report.

[Updated Library] The Nature of the Conservation Easement and the Document Granting It

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 11:55:10 GMT

By statute and by common law interpretation, a conservation easement is a real estate interest and is governed by real estate law, in particular, the law of servitudes. This guide analyzes the nature of the conservation easement and the operation of the document granting the easement. It includes discussion of the mechanisms that assist in upholding the easement's conservation objectives in perpetuity. WeConservePA guide. 15 pages.

[New Guide] A Conservation Easement Is Not a Voluntary Agreement

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 11:46:09 GMT

Conservation easements are sometimes referred to as “voluntary agreements.” This characterization is misleading and counterproductive for landowner-holder relations and easement stewardship.

[Updated Library] A Conservation Easement Is Not a Voluntary Agreement

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 11:37:02 GMT

This one-page piece challenges the practice of calling a conservation easement a "voluntary agreement." This and similar terms have been shown to be appealing in the context of public opinion surveys. However, the language is misleading. Of great concern is whether it results in landowners taking less seriously the objectives and restrictions of easements. WeConservePA guide.

[Updated Library] A Conservation Easement Is Not a Voluntary Agreement

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 20:48:44 GMT

[Updated Library] A Conservation Easement Is Not a Voluntary Agreement

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 20:01:24 GMT

[New Library] A Conservation Easement Is Not a Voluntary Agreement

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 15:55:34 GMT

[Updated Expert] Chris Blaze, PLS

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 13:07:04 GMT

We provide surveying and mapping to define land boundaries, earth’s physical features, and the built environment. With tools like Robotic Theodolites, GNSS and advanced software, we deliver innovative solutions for remote and challenging environments. Geomatics is the science of collection, analysis, display, and management of spatial information. The art is interpreting this information for legal matters of land definition or to support mapping, design, or conservation activities. Addressing unique logistical and technical aspects of each project, our experts offer services that include boundary and cadastral surveys, topographic mapping, geodetic and control surveys, aerial photogrammetric mapping, water rights surveys, and hydrographic mapping.

[New Library] A Guided Tour of the Conservation Easement Enabling Statutes

Thu, 10 Apr 2025 14:46:35 GMT

[New Guide] Enforceability of Restrictions on Division of Eased Land in Pennsylvania

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 20:03:08 GMT

[New Guide] Subdivision and Transfer Restrictions in Grants of Conservation Easement

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 19:50:38 GMT

[Updated Library] Model Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 14:11:41 GMT

[Updated Library] Model Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 16:13:31 GMT