Stewardship and Monitoring

The real estate closing on a conservation transaction is just the beginning of ensuring the long-term protection of a parcel of land. Regular monitoring of conservation properties is the most important long-term commitment of a land trust. Land trust staff maintain communications with each landowner and visit properties at least once a year to ensure conservation values are protected in compliance with the conservation agreement. Landowners are typically invited to join land trust staff for monitoring visits on the property. This helps sustain the landowner-land trust relationship that is so important to effective conservation.

As lands change hands over the years, the stewardship and monitoring staff help educate the landowners about the conservation agreement and special conservation values being protected on their land. The Conservation Trust works with the NC land trust community to ensure that stewardship and monitoring procedures comply with or exceed guidelines set forth in the national Land Trust Alliance's "Standards and Practices."

Endowments
There are costs for each easement or property owned by a land trust. These costs include travel, land management, record keeping, and communications. These stewardship and monitoring costs are often covered by a contribution from the landowner at the time a conservation agreement is signed. Land trusts manage these funds as an endowment to ensure their ability to monitor and enforce the terms of each conservation agreement in perpetuity. Contributions of this kind are tax deductible. Many thanks goes to landowners who fund stewardship endowments. Additional contributions to these funds are always welcome and much appreciated from others in the community.