Stewardship

The Conservancy for Charles County helps conservation-minded landowners protect their land not just for their lifetimes but in perpetuity. A land trust’s work is just beginning with the recording of a conservation easement at the county courthouse. In accepting and holding a conservation easement, we commit to maintaining its integrity through periodic stewardship that includes enforcement of its terms. Legal enforcement, of course, is a remedy of last resort.

Our goal is to maintain a good working relationship with landowners of conserved property and to help them understand their conservation easement. This is especially true for successive landowners who may have no prior experience with the limitations of a conservation easement on the uses of their land. Violations, when they occur, are usually unintentional and can be resolved through cooperative means.

• We monitor and document changes to the property and its uses over time compared to its recorded baseline.

• Site visits are conducted by trained volunteers. Owners are provided advance notice and are invited to participate. We provide a questionnaire regarding any changes and management practices since the previous visit or are planned for the future and follow up with a letter of compliance for the owner’s records.

Stewardship includes the administration of an easement, for example, securely maintaining accurate records, approving a request to site a new residence or structure, change a management practice, or exercise a specified right, determining whether an amendment is needed, or simply responding to a request for information.

A donor can be confident in the Conservancy’s commitment to the long-term defense of his easement. We are a charter member-owner of Terrafirma Risk Retention Group LLC, a one-of-a-kind captive charitable risk pool created by Land Trust Alliance and owned by participating land trusts.   Terrafirma insures its members against the legal costs of defending conservation.

Stewardship of each easement entails costs and each new easement increases the financial burden.   To ensure that the Conservancy will maintain the financial stability to monitor, defend, and enforce the terms of each of its easements, we established the Stewardship Endowment Fund.   All contributions to this fund are restricted for easement protection.   Each donor of a new conservation easement is asked to consider making a voluntary contribution. Contributions to the fund are welcome from all sources, however.