The Alachua Conservation Trust sent out the following for distribution.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2024
Alachua Conservation Trust
Heather Obara, Associate Director
352-373-1078
info@AlachuaConservationTrust.org
Conservation Permanence Matters in Florida
By Tom Kay, Christine P. Johnson, and Shane Wellendorf
Recent articles claim that Florida’s conservation easements are not perpetual, but when Florida
land trusts conserve land forever, we mean it!
Florida’s nonprofit land trusts have conserved nearly 2 million of the 10.7 million acres
protected in the Sunshine State according to the Land Trust Alliance’s 2020 National Land Trust
Census. These lands are both privately and publicly owned, generating myriad benefits to
residents and visitors alike. As more people continue to move into our state and more rural land
and open spaces are lost to development, Florida land trusts are accelerating their work of
partnering with willing landowners to protect the land that is so important to our way of life,
clean drinking water, farming and ranching communities, diverse wildlife, recreational
opportunities, and iconic scenery. One critical tool for this important work is conservation
easements.
Conservation easements are voluntary legal agreements between a landowner and a land trust or
government entity. When a property is conserved with a conservation easement, the landowner is
choosing to permanently limit the uses of the land to protect its conservation values. There are
direct landowner benefits, as well as public benefits like flood protection, clean drinking water,
wildlife habitat, scenic views, outdoor recreation, cultural and historic preservation, and
protected agricultural land that produces local sustainable food. Whether a conservation
easement is held by a government entity or a not-for-profit land trust, it is the easement holder’s
legal and ethical responsibility to ensure the easement terms are met and that the public will
always receive the benefits guaranteed by the easement.
Conservation easements are at the heart of private land conservation, allowing landowners to
protect their land into the future on their own terms, while still retaining the ability to own, use
and control their land, sell it or pass it on to heirs — all while their land continues to benefit our
local economies. This shared commitment to permanently conserve land is what drives land
trusts to ensure that the properties we conserve are properly documented and stewarded for the
long haul, and it guides how we prepare to ensure our own durability, both financially and
organizationally.
The 15 Florida land trusts that are members of the Land Trust Alliance have adopted the Land
Trust Standards and Practices — ethical and technical guidelines for the responsible operation of
a land trust. These standards compel the entire land trust community to aspire to excellence and
continuous improvement, and to ensure conservation permanence. Land Trust Alliance member
land trusts are committed to ensuring conservation easements are perpetual and permanent.
Five Florida land trusts, including our organizations — Tall Timbers Research Station and Land
Conservancy, Alachua Conservation Trust and Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast, went
even further to ensure their longevity to steward conservation easements by becoming accredited
by the independent Land Trust Accreditation Commission; accreditation is awarded to those land
trusts meeting the highest national standards for excellence and conservation permanence.
The incidents in which Florida conservation easements were undone by local or state
governments are rare exceptions, and none were held by Land Trust Alliance members. When a
landowner works with a Land Trust Alliance member they can be assured they are getting expert
advice on how to ensure their conservation easement is indeed forever. Furthermore, all
conservation easements held or facilitated by a Florida accredited land trust have protections that
safeguard perpetuity and defend against extinguishments or releases. Moreover, accredited land
trusts take additional precautions. For example, our legal defense insurance, called Terrafirma,
defends conservation easements from issues that threaten the legitimacy and purpose of the
conservation easement.
Indeed, working with a Land Trust Alliance member land trust, especially one that is accredited,
is the best way to ensure Florida’s conservation easements are in fact forever.
Tom Kay is the executive director of Alachua Conservation Trust.
Christine P. Johnson is the president of Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast.
Shane Wellendorf is the land conservancy director of Tall Timbers Research Station & Land
Conservancy
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Alachua Conservation Trust
7204 SE County Road 234, Gainesville, FL 32641
www.AlachuaConservationTrust.org
