2023 Schedule – Pacific Time

This workshop will cover the difference between discretionary approval and amendment, and explain when and how to design and execute these tools. Included will be IRS views on amendment, current caselaw on amending conservation easements, Land Trust Alliance Risk Management Drafting Pointers, rules for a good amendment, discussion of who must sign, due diligence necessary for every amendment and state law differences.

With a wide range of resources available, there are multiple ways your land trust can go digital! Join Maryland Environmental Trust, Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, and Lower Shore Land Trust as they present on their organizations' experiences with various technologies in stewarding the diverse landscapes of Maryland. Attendees will learn about ESRI's ArcGIS Mobile Application, LENS satellite imagery, drones, and much more!

Case study from Alaska: A trespasser stripped the trees and vegetation off a land trust protected property, brought in dozens of dump truck loads of gravel which were then compacted creating ‘dead zones.’ We fought back and were ultimately successful in recouping our costs and restoring the property. Are you ready to successfully manage a major violation on one of your conserved properties? This session will help provide strategies, tools and tips for land trust staff, board, and attorneys to successfully handle a major violation. Join Great Land Trust’s executive director, stewardship director and attorney for a frank discussion including resources and strategies we used to achieve success.

With the increased pressure for recreational access and the emergence of companies that facilitate short-term rentals, land trusts are encountering more requests for extensive recreational uses of conserved properties paired with overnight occupancy. Where is the line between recreational and residential? How can land trusts steward existing, and sometimes vague, conservation easements in a way that upholds their obligations, protects the conservation values, and supports the landowners’ ability to create revenue and create outdoor access? Panelists will discuss stewardship challenges and drafting suggestions to make these questions easier to answer going forward.

Over the last two decades of the half-century-old field of land conservation law, the conservation community has instituted crucial supportive mechanisms and implemented new infrastructure to stabilize the perpetuity-long duration of conservation easements and their holders. After a half-century of incredibly successful conservation work, it is essential now to evaluate the practical, policy and ethical impacts of our work to focus on urgent needs and obtainable outcomes in the short-term, and see-changing, aspirational goals for the long-term. From bolstering and expanding conservation incentives in the face of extensive abuse, to integrating private land protection within communities, shifting land monetization and valuation approaches, unbundling notions of land ownership, and re-democratizing and restoring land access and use, presenters will share a conservation checklist intended to sustain and secure perpetual land conservation as a continuing dynamic and flexible source for local, state, federal and global protection and management of critical resources, while ensuring equitable, inclusive, diverse and just land conservation for the future.

We’re at it again! The Conservation Easement Stewardship Roundtable is returning for its 13th iteration at Rally! This session is ideal for conservation easement stewardship staff and experienced volunteers. Via peer-to-peer, lightly structured discussion, this session provides key opportunities to network with colleagues across the country, discuss pressing and emerging issues for stewardship, and introduce further engagement with stewardship practitioners via The Resource Center resources and online forums. Bring troubling questions for objective feedback as well as success stories to provide examples to colleagues! Themes covered may include climate change resiliency, diversity and inclusion, technology options, recordkeeping challenges, landowner relationships, second- and third- generation landowner issues, violations across the spectrum, staffing and organizational challenges and new monitoring ideas.