We work with landowners around the state to assist them in putting their lands in conservation. We hold conservation easements for individuals, developments and conservation banks, and provide easement monitoring and reporting to public entities.

A land trust is a nonprofit organization that, as all or part of its mission, actively works to conserve land by undertaking or assisting in land or conservation easement acquisition, or by its stewardship of such land or easements.  Typically, land trusts have or have access to expertise in land acquisition, real estate law, and land management.  This blend of expertise allows the land trust to assist the land owner, municipality, agency, or whoever, in identifying the most suitable mechanism for protection. 

Wildlands has this suite of skills and often works with land owners and agencies initially to identify the most appropriate course of action for any given target conservation area; how it should be purchased, by what mechanism, how it should be managed, and the long-term management costs and commitments. We have worked with conservation-minded private land owners to identify and implement the best mechanisms (e.g., fee simple acquisition, conservation easements) for meeting both the land owners financial objectives and protecting the land’s ecological integrity.  This also entails facilitating cost-sharing partnerships with federal, state and local land acquisition programs. Additionally, Wildlands is well adapted to understanding the needs of the agency, municipality, land owner, and the community at large.  As a 501(c)3, there are tax benefits to using a land trust for the donation of lands or easements.

Land Donations
Often, there are situations where a land owner with primary objectives other than conservation, such as a land developer, is required to conserve a portion of their property and manage it in perpetuity.  There is great financial benefit to donating that property to a not-for-profit with a donation large enough to generate interest that may be used to manage the property in perpetuity.  This mechanism relieves the land owner of any liabilities associated with the lands as well as the long-term responsibility as a conservation land steward while placing the lands in the hands of those with the expertise to manage effectively.

 
Conservation Easements.
There are many instances where it makes good sense to turn over an easement for a conservation area to a third party that has no conflicts of interest and whose primary objective is sound ecological management.  Time and time again, easements fall to home owners associations or development corporations that often don’t have the expertise (or the interest) in managing these conservation areas. Evidence to this effect, is reflected in state written and unwritten policy that require or strongly encourage that easements be held by third party not-for-profit organizations. As a 501(c)3, comprised of land managers and ecologists, Wildlands is highly qualified to fill this niche.  We currently hold easements for conservation lands within the private sector, both for home owners associations and land developers, and are currently in the process of assuming easements for mitigation and conservation banks. 

This assures that the easement is being managed in perpetuity by a qualified, objective, party with the appropriate ecological management expertise with one interest: to manage the property in a manner that enhances and maintains the ecological integrity of the site. 

There are several funding mechanisms that can be applied to assure that the funds are available for in perpetuity management of any given conservation area. 

Wildlands currently has entered into several agreements where management is paid for by the development entity and the financial responsibility ultimately falls on the lasting entity (e.g., home owner’s association) or where moneys are set aside upfront and management is conducted off the interest from the initial set aside.