Conservation Defense

Highlights

• Wisconsin Land Trust Prevails Over 50-Year-Old Encroachment
• Twelve Stories High and Four 747s Wide: Proposed Gash in Mountain for Connector
• Tax Court Denies Deduction Over Mortgage Subordination and Proceeds Clause

The Conservation Defense Initiative has three components:

Conservation Defense Center— provides networking, education and legal information to attorneys and land trusts on conservation defense.

• Clearinghouse*
• Attorney Locator*
• Attorney Network
• Special Training Opportunities

Conservation Defense Fund — used by the Alliance to assist land trusts facing precedent-setting legal challenges to their conservation easements and land holdings.  The Fund is not a replacement for land trust legal defense funds and stewardship endowments.

Conservation Defense Insurance
At their June 5, 2009 meeting, the Alliance board approved the terms of a potential program to cover the costs of enforcing and defending easements and protecting land trust land. A minimum of 12,000 easements or fee parcels for this program were needed to be feasible, and efforts have been underway to secure the commitments and receive land trust feedback on their willingness to participate.

Now that the commitments have reached 17,211 from 431 land trusts, the Alliance board will evaluate a business plan proposal at their next October meeting, and gauge the funding and viability of the program.

Contact Leslie Ratley-Beach, Conservation Defense Director, at lrbeach@lta.org for more information.

*Access is offered to board, staff and volunteers of Alliance member land trusts and organizational partners, and to individual members at the $250 level and above.