![[Maryland Environmental Trust]](top2.gif){kind=small}
Conservation Easement Stewardship
The donation of a conservation easement to the Maryland Environmental Trust is a major investment in the continued health, beauty, and enjoyment of Maryland’s open spaces and the Chesapeake Bay. Protecting one’s property does not stop with the signing of the conservation easement.
The Maryland Environmental Trust (MET) provides stewardship services to easement holders that will ensure the long-term protection of their land, thereby enhancing the special natural and scenic aspects of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
You may have some questions about MET's stewardship role:
What is stewardship and why is it necessary? Through stewardship, the Maryland Environmental Trust continues to protect properties long after the easements are signed. By monitoring the condition of a property, we can ensure that its easement is upheld by second-generation landowners and beyond. This also enables us to provide technical assistance to landowners for the restoration and protection of stream- and river-side forests, wildlife habitat, and water quality. Stewardship helps us establish relationships with new landowners when property changes hands, and helps us stay in touch with all easement donors over the long haul.
Stewardship begins with the documentation of the key features of the property—such as unique natural features, land uses, buildings, and roads— which serves as the starting point for future stewardship activities. Using information on these conservation features as a reference, MET staff and volunteers periodically visit each protected property and document changes, such as new structures or changes in land use. During these visits, we also discuss with the landowner any questions they may have or upcoming plans for the property, whether they are planning to sell it, replace existing buildings or construct new ones, conduct a timber harvest, or remove hazardous trees. This provides an opportunity to review what activities are allowed or prohibited by the easement.
What happens if a violation of the easement is found during a stewardship visit?
Maryland Environmental Trust staff will contact the landowner immediately and identify a way to resolve the issue. Typically, violations are not willful and landowners are eager to repair any damage to the conservation values of their property. As a last resort, the Maryland Environmental Trust will pursue legal action to stop further damage and correct the problem.
But I donated the easement, so I won’t violate it. Why would you still need to monitor?
Most violations occur after the property has been transferred to new owners who are not familiar with the terms of the easement or lack your conservation ethic. By consistently conducting stewardship visits over time, we are better able to identify major changes and violations when they occur. It is important to document the condition of the property at regular intervals no matter if the property is in the care of the original or subsequent owners.
How much does stewardship cost?
Monitoring activities can cost between $100 to $500 per year per easement, depending on easement complexity, the property’s location and size, and whether volunteers or staff visit. If violations are found, or if landowners seek to exercise rights reserved by the easement, then significant additional staff time may be required. Through the years, each easement may require as much as $10,000 to $15,000 for stewardship, and significantly more if legal action is required. MET is fortunate to be able to call on the Office of the Assistant Attorney General at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources for legal advice, document review, and in extreme circumstances, litigation to enforce easements and ensure the protection of conservation values of the easement property. Landowners may donate to the Maryland Environmental Trust’s Stewardship Fund.
What other services can Maryland Environmental Trust staff provide during stewardship visits?
MET staff can assist in a wide variety of ways. Many landowners with property that is protected by a conservation easement are eager to enhance its natural resources. Staff can provide information on technical assistance programs that can help landowners improve their property, such as through streamside tree plantings, forest stand improvement, wildlife habitat enhancement, etc. Maryland Environmental Trust staff are always available whether onsite or by telephone to answer questions about easement interpretation and the effect of specific actions on the conservation values of landowner’s property.
Special thanks to the Potomac Conservancy for use of their material in creating this FAQ.
MET Home
DNR Home
