In the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, a conservation trust helped stabilize and regenerate the damaged area. When bird habitats along the Platte River were threatened by Grayrocks Dam, a similar trust came to their rescue. And if a family wants to protect its land for future generations, establishing a trust may be the best solution. For more than a century, bequests of land and funds for environmental protection have been common, but in recent decades the trusts used to address conservation issues and resolve environmental disputes have diversified and grown significantly. This book examines a variety of conservation organizations built on or close to trust principles—some government creations, some private, some combinations of the two—to explain how conservation trusts are created and how they work. It explores strengths and weaknesses of the trust concept, considers the widespread use of land trusts, and presents case studies that both illustrate successes and give instructive examples of potential pitfalls. Drawing on cases from Maine to Hawaii, the authors examine the different kinds and configurations of trusts. They consider government trusts that blend federal, state, and local agencies into a single entity or that derive funding from outside legislative and executive channels; trusts established by government and private cooperation to share responsibility for jointly held and managed resources; and trusts established by private organizations and families. For each type, they explain why each is created, how it operates, and whether it has been proven effective. They also address the important issue of accountability-and consider when a trust is not the answer to a problem. As more Americans reject federal control of land in favor of local determination, land trusts have become the most popular tool for the preservation of land, habitats, and species. And as the sharing of authority among public, private, and diverse government partners becomes more prevalent, sound guidelines for establishing effective trusts are critical. This book shows how the trust template provides an invaluable approach for future conservation efforts and is a primer for anyone involved in environmental management.

Voluntary land conservation, resulting from increasingly alluring tax benefits, has significantly changed the face of land use in the United States and promises to have an even more significant influence in the future. There are more than 1,500 land trusts in the U.S. today, involving millions of acres of land that have been permanently protected by conservation easements. Most of these land trusts depend heavily upon the significant income or estate tax benefits offered by the federal tax code as an incentive for voluntary land conservation. However, only a very small percentage of land trust personnel, landowners or their advisors, or even government officials, fully understand the complexity of the requirements for these tax benefits. This is a comprehensive book on the tax benefits of the charitable contribution, or bargain sale, of a conservation easement. It provides a detailed explanation of the complex and extensive requirements of the federal tax code and related concepts, including the rules governing the operation of tax-exempt organizations such as land trusts. Clearly written, systematic in its coverage, it is intended to be of value for anyone who deals with land trust issues, including land trust staff and trustees, landowners, lawyers, accountants, government officials, and interested lay people. Structured for easy reference, A Tax Guide to Conservation Easements is designed to be used as a resource tool. Related topics are cross-referenced throughout. All principles in the book are illustrated with one or more useful examples. The tax benefits of contributing a conservation easement are unquestionably the heart of voluntary land conservation today. Knowledge of the tax law relating to land trusts and conservation easements is vital to properly establishing and managing land trusts and to insuring the tax deductibility of conservation easements. The future of voluntary land conservation is dependent on a clear understanding of tax policy. Complete, meticulous, and up to date, A Tax Guide to Conservation Easements is an essential handbook.

“The Earth says, God has placed me here. The Earth says that God tells me to take care of the Indians on this earth; the Earth says to the Indians that stop on the Earth, feed them right. . . . God says feed the Indians upon the earth.” —Cayuse Chief Young Chief, Walla Walla Council of 1855 America has always been Indian land. Historically and culturally, Native Americans have had a strong appreciation for the land and what it offers. After continually struggling to hold on to their land and losing millions of acres, Native Americans still have a strong and ongoing relationship to their homelands. The land holds spiritual value and offers a way of life through fishing, farming, and hunting. It remains essential—not only for subsistence but also for cultural continuity—that Native Americans regain rights to land they were promised. Beth Rose Middleton examines new and innovative ideas concerning Native land conservancies, providing advice on land trusts, collaborations, and conservation groups. Increasingly, tribes are working to protect their access to culturally important lands by collaborating with Native and non- Native conservation movements. By using private conservation partnerships to reacquire lost land, tribes can ensure the health and sustainability of vital natural resources. In particular, tribal governments are using conservation easements and land trusts to reclaim rights to lost acreage. Through the use of these and other private conservation tools, tribes are able to protect or in some cases buy back the land that was never sold but rather was taken from them. Trust in the Land sets into motion a new wave of ideas concerning land conservation. This informative book will appeal to Native and non-Native individuals and organizations interested in protecting the land as well as environmentalists and government agencies.

Finally, a comprehensive book on land conservation financing for community and regional conservation leaders. A Field Guide to Conservation Finance provides essential advice on how to tackle the universal obstacle to protecting private land in America: lack of money. Story Clark dispels the myths that conservationists can access only private funds controlled by individuals or that only large conservation organizations have clout with big capital markets. She shows how small land conservation organizations can achieve conservation goals using both traditional and cutting-edge financial strategies. Clark outlines essential tools for raising money, borrowing money, and reducing the cost of transactions. She covers a range of subjects including transfer fees, voluntary surcharges, seller financing, revolving funds, and Project Related Investment programs (PRIs). A clear, well-written overview of the basics of conservation finance with useful insights and real stories combine to create a book that is an invaluable and accessible guide for land trusts seeking to protect more land.

Amidst growing awareness over the past half century that human activity threatens our natural environment, many of the world’s largest cities have played a role in the sustainability movement, as seen by such initiatives as Day of Cities sponsored by the United Nations. And now local governments in towns and smaller cities are beginning to play a more prominent role in the green movement. This book, inspired by the author’s own experience as a citizen activist and local candidate, is a guide for local governments and citizens wishing to launch sustainability campaigns and programs that make a lasting difference in our world. Alexandra Reed Lajoux addresses the popular "green city" topic but focuses on smaller municipalities, which are more numerous than big cities, and in greater need of guidance. With a visionary foreword by Ben G. Price, National Organizer, Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund and author of How Wealth Rules the World, the book discusses the most critical environmental, economic, and engineering realities of municipal life and leadership in our times, ranging from rights of nature, to rollback tax rates, to green infrastructure, to gentrification. It will appeal to a broad range of town or city government employees and elected officials, as well as local activists, contemplating the issues of managing and funding sustainability that all localities worldwide face at some level.

This book is the first in a series of volumes that combine conservation philosophy in the built environment with knowledge of traditional materials, and structural and constructional conservation techniques and technology: • Understanding Historic Building Conservation • Materials & Skills in Historic Building Conservation • Structures & Construction in Historic Building Conservation The series aims to introduce each aspect of conservation and to provide concise, basic and up-to-date knowledge for architects, surveyors and engineers as well as for commissioning client bodies, managers and advisors. In each book, Michael Forsyth draws together chapters by leading architects, structural engineers and related professionals to reflect the interdisciplinary nature of conservation work. The books are structured to be of direct practical application, taking the reader through the process of historic building conservation and emphasising throughout the integrative teamwork involved. This present volume – Understanding Historic Building Conservation – discusses conservation philosophy and the importance of understanding the history of a building before making strategic decisions. It details the role of each conservation team member and sets out the challenges of conservation at planning level in urban, industrial and rural contexts and in the conservation of designed landscapes. The framework of legislation and charters within which these operate is described and the book also provides guidance on writing conservation plans, explains the fundamental issues of costing and contracts for conservation and highlights the importance of maintenance. Eighteen chapters written by the experts present today’s key issues in historic building conservation: Timothy Cantell, Martin Cherry, Nigel Dann, Peter Davenport, Geoff Evans, Keith Falconer, Colin Johns, Jeremy Lake, Jonathan Lovie, Duncan McCallum, James Maitland Gard’ner, Martin Robertson, Adrian Stenning, David H. Tomback, Giles Waterfield, Philip Whitbourn, John Winter.

Providing a detailed account of the law of nature conservation, this book reviews and discusses the way in which the law promotes the conservation of species of animal, bird, and plant, and how it protects natural habitats for protected species. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the book sets nature conservation in its economic and scientific context. It explains how the law reconciles the public interest in promoting biodiversity and the conservation of species and habitats, on the one hand, and the private property rights of landowners and other resource appropriators on the other. The book offers an illuminating new interpretation of this area of environmental regulation using a resource allocation model of property rights to explain how legal and economic instruments for promoting nature conservation work in practice. The analysis covers all recent legislation and case law - including the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 and the 2012 National Planning Policy Framework. The book will serve as a critical guide to UK nature conservation law for those working in the system, and a valuable reference point on the UK's approach to the area for environmental lawyers and policy-makers overseas.