Open Space Council STL

A workshop hosted by the Missouri Land Trust Coalition

in affiliation with the Natural Areas Association Conference

Part 1: Conservation Easements and Natural Areas Protection

and

Part 2: Evaluating and Selecting Conservation Projects

Friday, October 29, 2010 ∙ 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

The Missouri Land Trust Coalition is hosting a 2-part workshop at the Natural Areas Association Conference. The first part of the workshop will focus on the use of conservation easements as a potential tool to protect designated Natural Areas.  The second part of the workshop is a Land Trust Standards and Practices curriculum that will focus on how to evaluate and select conservation projects.

The Natural Areas Association (NAA) works to inform, unite, and support persons engaged in identifying, protecting, managing, and studying natural areas and biological diversity across landscapes and ecosystems. The annual national conference is attended by over 300 professionals across the country who present and discuss such topics as invasive species control, habitat restoration including prescribed fire, erosion and sedimentation control, and woodland, watershed and cave management. A one day field trip to various natural areas is part of the conference, and workshops also include plant and animal identification. For information about the NAA and Conference, please visit the website at:  http://www.naturalarea.org/10Conference/

The MLTC workshop will be held on the last day of the NAA Conference.  Participants who register and attend all or a portion of the Conference can attend the MLTC workshop as part of their NAA Conference registration. Participants who can only attend the MLTC workshop must register separately ($35)  by completing the attached Registration Form.

Lunch will be provided to all participants.  The Land Trust Standards and Practices Curriculum workbook will be for sale (~$15) at the workshop.

Part 1: Conservation Easements and Natural Areas Protection

Facilitator:  Ted Heisel, Executive Director, Ozark Regional Land Trust

Workshop Description: This workshop will explore how to protect natural areas using conservation easements. What is the past, present and future of conservation easements to protect natural areas? Real-world examples illustrate the status of land trusts and easements in the United States, highlighting current issues and demonstrating both benefits and limitations.

Part 2: Evaluating and Selecting Conservation Projects

Facilitator: Renee Kivikko, Director of Education, Land Trust Alliance

Workshop Description:  Every land trust must find a balance between being strategic and opportunistic. Land trusts that focus on their strategic priorities typically find that they can raise more funds and protect more land. These land trusts work with their partners to develop conservation priorities appropriate for their communities.

A land trust that does not prioritize and carefully select its projects may open itself to public criticism, credibility issues and even legal problems.  For each property, sufficient information must be gathered to make sound judgments and avoid unacceptable risks.  The process and selection criteria provide a valuable instrument for evaluating projects and documenting the public benefit of each transaction.  Once projects are selected, the land trust must determine how best to protect a given property’s resources.

This workshop addresses the Land Trust Standard 8 “The land trust carefully evaluates and selects its conservation projects”.  After taking this workshop, participants will know how to:

• Describe the value of a formal process for selecting projects,
• Assess the feasibility of a project based upon the land trust’s mission and capacity,
• Apply the elements of a good selection process, which includes but is not limited to landowner contact, site inspection, review against criteria, determination of public benefit, and evaluation of stewardship responsibilities,
• Know when and how to reject a project while still maintaining good landowner relations,
• Understand the Internal Revenue Code’s conservation purposes test,
• Develop a project planning template for each individual project and a system to track projects once they are under consideration,

Workshop Agenda:

10:00-12:00      Part 1: Conservation Easements and Natural Areas Protection

12:00-12:30      Lunch

12:30-5:00        Part 2: Evaluating and Selecting Conservation Projects

12:30-2:45     Chapter 1: Project Selection and Criteria (Practice 8B)

The Project Selection Process and Criteria

Organizational Considerations

Applying Project Selection Criteria

Public Relations and Outreach

Declining a Project

Chapter 2: IRS Requirements and Public Benefit (Practice 8D)

Internal Revenue Code Conservation Easement Criteria

Public Benefit

Other Legal Requirements

2:45-3:00       Break

3:00-4:45       Chapter 3: Site Inspection (Practice 8E)

Site Inspection

Additional Uses for Site Inspection Data

Chapter 4 Project Planning (Practice 8G)

Creating the Project Plan

Project Plans for a Conservation Easement and Fee Land Acquisition

Land Management Plan versus a Project Plan

When and How to Create a Project Plan

Using the Project Plan

4:45-5:00       Wrap-up and Evaluations