‘Shared commitment and flexibility are how conservation easements work best’

Anarticle in the July 6 Rappahannock News covered the current pace and considerations of conservation easements, but it didn’t say why people grant them. A conservation easement is a permanent gift to the people who come after us, the community, and the natural world. It doesn’t add monetary value to a property; it mitigates future risks to the property and adds value to the whole locality. In every respect, conservation easements have the most positive impact when neighbors band together to create larger zones of protected land.

Land trusts that manage conservation easements are welladvised to keep it simple. Flexibility in negotiating the terms is key, because each property and family is unique. If the terms aren’t onerous and are tailored to meet a family’s long-term needs, then more landowners sign up. Land trusts should accept properties of tens of acres that combine to form larger protected areas.

Caledonia Farm has 50 years under easement and no complaints. Built by the Dearing family, the farm was originally 240 acres in 1805 and grew to 847 acres by the mid-19th century. It was subdivided in 1939 and 1967. Thanks to six families and three land trusts, nine conservation easements now protect 137 acres (57%) of the original 240-acre Dearing farm and 554 (65%) of the maximum 847 acres, plus 123 acres on the east side of Dearing Road. Most of these easements are for less than 100 acres, and the terms vary from one to the next. That shared commitment and flexibility are how conservation easements work best.