Farmland Owners’ Satisfaction with Agricultural Conservation Easements

Schilling, Brian J.; Sullivan, Kevin P.; Esseks, J. Dixon; Lynch, Lori; Duke, Joshua M.; Gottlieb, Paul

doi:10.1080/08941920.2019.1677971

Cited by 3 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…With such a substantial investment in the purchase of conservation easements on agricultural land, it is important to assess the performance of protection programs over time. Kevin Sullivan and his coauthors discuss landowners' experiences and their satisfaction with operating farms after the purchase of agricultural conservation easements in their article Farmland Owners' Satisfaction with Agricultural Conservation Easements (Sullivan et al 2019).…”

Section: The Long-term Protection Of Privately Owned Landmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A conservation easement is a legally binding document that spells out permitted and forbidden land uses (Daniels 2019). Most conservation easements are perpetual and apply to future landowners (Sullivan et al 2019). Conservation easements, also referred to as the purchase of development rights when a government agency acquires the easement, have the added advantages of protecting land at a lower cost than fee simple purchase, and avoiding 5th Amendment "Takings" challenges because landowners are voluntarily restricting the use of their property.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Protected Land Management and Governance in the United States: More Than 150 Years of Change

Daniels

Moscovici

2019

Society & Natural Resources

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The articles in this special issue of Society and Natural Resources explore the processes and challenges in the long-term protection of public and private land resources in the United States. The practice of land protection and the governance of protected lands have evolved over time through major philosophical conflicts, a progression of laws, and an array of funding programs by state and local governments, federal agencies, and the private sector. In recent decades, the addition of new lands to federal and state ownership has slowed. Meanwhile, the protection of private lands by government agencies and private nonprofit land trusts has sharply increased. The papers in this special issue highlight key changes in the governance of federal and state lands, as well as emerging concerns over the long-term management of protected lands in private ownership.

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Section: The Long-term Protection Of Privately Owned Landmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protected Land Management and Governance in the United States: More Than 150 Years of Change

Daniels

Moscovici

2019

Society & Natural Resources

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“…Occasionally, CE terms can restrict land uses that could actually benefit nature conservation goals, which creates a need for ongoing CE stewardship and negotiation. The CE holder community has developed processes for ongoing CE stewardship and is aware of the challenges posed by succession (Byers & Ponte, 2005; Cooke & Lane, 2020; Fitzsimons & Carr, 2014; Schilling et al, 2019; Selinske et al, 2019). These processes range from writing and reviewing the CE to conducting regular property monitoring visits to resolving violations, updating management plans and updating landowner contacts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As naturecrats, staff choose to what degree rules are enforced (Lipsky, 1980). The choice of lenient to strict enforcement can affect staff relationships with landowners and influence future compliance (Schilling et al, 2019; Selinske et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustaining land and people over time: Relationships with successor landowners on conservation easements

et al. 2023

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Conservation is increasingly recognized and funded on private lands. Making conservation last despite turnover in people requires maintaining social relationships. For example, conservation easements (CEs), also called conservation covenants, are legal agreements for private land conservation typically expected to last in perpetuity, yet their public benefits depend on successor landowners. We focus on the social relations in stewarding lands held by successor landowners who purchased or inherited a property after the conservation agreement was in place. We conducted 38 semi‐structured interviews with key informants, conservation organization staff and successors who own conserved properties in Wisconsin, USA. These interviews revealed the importance of the relationship between conservation organization staff and landowners and the roles of trust, shared goals, meaning‐making and power. These social relationships can influence the land management choices of landowners and compliance enforcement approaches of conservation organizations. In light of these findings, policymakers and professionals should consider rapid outreach to new owners of conserved properties and greater investments in landowner relationships to build multiple dimensions of trust, connect on shared goals and help landowners find positive meaning in conservation agreements. We recommend documenting these personal dimensions of conservation for future staff, whose effectiveness in the field depends on their ability to make conservation policy salient for particular people and places. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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“…Species conservation programs on agricultural land have employed various incentives, such as results‐based payments and tax benefits, to promote program engagement by farmers and ranchers (Sorice et al 2013; Raymond et al 2015; Zabala et al 2017; McDonald et al 2018; Yeiser et al 2018; Arnott et al 2019; Brown 2019; Schilling et al 2020). Yet, effective incentives are challenging to develop because the diverse needs and perspectives of land managers creates wide differences in their willingness to engage in conservation programs (Yeiser et al 2018; Cortés Capano et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lessons learnt from multiple private land conservation programs in Canada to inform species at risk conservation

Reiter

Pittman

Ayambire

et al. 2022

Canadian Geographies / Géographies canadiennes

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Action at local scales is needed to reduce documented declines in global biodiversity. Agricultural land constitutes 6.8% of the surface area of Canada, including more than 20 million hectares of grazing pasture alone, providing habitat to many species at risk of extinction. In Canada, where a voluntary stewardship approach is the main strategy for species at risk conservation on privately owned and managed lands, the challenge is to create conservation programs that maximize participation. We reviewed research on voluntary conservation programs on agricultural lands from five Canadian provinces to understand which approaches were most effective in maximizing participation. The objective of this paper is to contribute to policy development for conservation on private lands in Canada. We highlight common themes from all five regions. Key findings include the value of establishing a local delivery agent for the program, and the importance of designing the program to be in alignment with existing agricultural operations. Private landowners may build trust with local program managers, and are more open to making subtle adjustments to their land management rather than major changes. We conclude with eight recommendations to support the development of high impact species at risk stewardship programs on agricultural lands in Canada.

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Farmland Owners’ Satisfaction with Agricultural Conservation Easements

Cited by 3 publications

References 19 publications

Protected Land Management and Governance in the United States: More Than 150 Years of Change

Protected Land Management and Governance in the United States: More Than 150 Years of Change

Sustaining land and people over time: Relationships with successor landowners on conservation easements

Lessons learnt from multiple private land conservation programs in Canada to inform species at risk conservation

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