INTRODUCTIONSIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCHANTICIPATED OUTCOMESObjectivesMethodsGroup Organizational StructureAreas of Responsibility for Individual Team MembersEDUCATIONEXPERIENCESEDUCATIONTHE AMOS TUCK SCHOOL OF BUSINESS,DARTMOUTH COLLEGEAMHERST COLLEGEFLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY, FLORENCE STUDY CENTEREXPERIENCEInstructor of InvestmentsPERSONALGregory R. HornerGregory R. HornerEDUCATIONUniversity of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN May 2000Preserve InternINTERNATIONAL TEACHING EXPERIENCETeacher/Teaching AssistantStephen R. ThornYALE UNIVERSITY, NEW HAVEN, CTLegal InternChemistry InstructorMaster’s Aid and Head Master’s AidA STUDY OF WORKING FOREST CONSERVATION EASEMENTS:DETERMINING CURRENT TRENDS IN MONITORING AND LEGAL LANGUAGEMASTER’S PROJECT GROUP(Email: [email protected])ADAM BLOCKKARA HARTIGANROBERT HEISERGREGORY HORNERLUKE LEWANDOWSKIJASON MULVIHILL-KUNTZSTEPHEN THORNPROJECT CLIENTTINA HALL, CONSERVATION DIRECTORTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY, MICHIGAN CHAPTERUPPER PENINSULA CONSERVATION CENTERFACULTY ADVISORELIZABETH BRABEC, J.D., M.L.A.23TABLE OF CONTENTSABSTRACT 3INTRODUCTION 3PROBLEM STATEMENT 4SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH 5ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES 5LITERATURE REVIEW 6OBJECTIVES AND METHODS 9WORKPLAN 11TIMELINE 14RELEVANT INSTITUTIONAL RESOURCES 16BUDGET 17PERSONNEL 204ABSTRACTA Working Forest Conservation Easement (WFCE) is a tool that many conservationorganizations have increasingly turned to in the past decade to protect vast, forested areasfrom suburbanization, agricultural development, and intensive logging. Whileconsiderable effort and money has been spent to protect these vast areas of forested landthrough WFCEs, no institutionalized protocol for effectively monitoring these easementshas been established. The consequences of this reality are significant: there exists nocomprehensive understanding of how well, or if at all, these forested ecosystems arethriving under this protection regime. This research aims to survey current monitoringtrends of WFCEs in order to develop an effective protocol for effective monitoring sucheasements, based upon the resources of the land trust, size of the protected parcel, andconservation goals. To accomplish this, we will survey a range of monitoring techniquescurrently available to property managers. Next, we will conduct extensive interviewswith property managers to determine which techniques have been most effective. Fromthis, a protocol for effectively monitoring WFCEs will be created. This research will alsosurvey the legal language of a subset of WFCEs in order to provide the land trustcommunity with a comprehensive understanding of the language typically used in theseeasements, how that language has changed over time and across geographic area, and theeffects of that wording on the achievement of conservation goals. In order to meet thissecond objective, we will perform an exhaustive review of the language of WFCEs andthe pertinent features of the easements will be compiled into summary form.INTRODUCTIONA conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a nonprofit landtrust or governmental entity that permanently limits the uses of the land in order toprotect specified conservation values.1 Conservation easements, most often designed toprevent the conversion of natural areas to other uses, are voluntary and legally binding,usually into perpetuity. Landowners who donate or sell conservation easements to landtrusts or government entities often receive direct monetary compensation or income taxincentives. In turn, these private land trusts and government agencies are responsible formonitoring and enforcing the terms of the easement.2Like most traditional conservation easements, working forest conservation easementsprohibit development on the land in perpetuity. However, by adding language that guidesforest management in order to protect specified forest values, WFCEs can provide anadditional tier of protection. WFCEs can protect forest resources by ensuring sustainable1 Lind, Brenda. 2001. Working Forest Conservation Easements. Washington, DC: The Land Trust Alliance.2 Newsom, Deanna. Adapted from Forest Certification and Working Forest Conservation Easements: Common Elements and First Thoughts on a Combined System. Rainforest Alliance, December 20, 2002.5forest practices and encouraging long-term land stewardship. Additionally, WFCEsenable landowners to continue to derive economic value from the land through theharvest of forest products to support the ongoing costs of ownership and stewardship.3Working forest conservation easements have increasingly been looked to as a powerfultool in the conservation of biodiversity and ecological health, especially at a landscapescale. Since 1990 the Northeastern US has seen a 188% increase in the area conservedthrough land trusts, while the Southeastern US has seen a 268% increase.4 In addition, thesize of working forest conservation easements is also increasing: the easement sold by thePingree family in Maine in March 2000 covers 762,192 acres and is the largest easementin US conservation history.5 The Wall Street Journal recently highlighted this protectiontool stating that over 2.6 million acres in the US are now protected with working foresteasements and that use of this easement tool has increased nearly five-fold in a decade.6In recent years attention has been focused not only on the use of WFCEs as aconservation tool, but also on the efficacy of this type of easement. Monitoring is a keycomponent to the success of both conservation easements in general and WFCEsspecifically. In order to encourage property managers to more efficiently and effectivelymonitor their easements, a comprehensive understanding of current monitoringtechniques and trends is necessary. PROBLEM STATEMENTWhile considerable effort has been expended to protect large areas of forested landthrough WFCEs, no institutionalized protocol for monitoring the effectiveness of theseeasements has been established. The consequences may be significant because without acomprehensive understanding easement holders (land trusts, land conservancies, andgovernment agencies) cannot gauge the degree to which conservation goals (i.e. forestsustainability) are being met.The primary goal of this research is to develop a
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