Stewardship is a major part of the land trust's responsibility to easement donors. In agreeing to the terms of an easement, our organization makes a solemn and legally binding vow to ensure the terms of the agreement are followed, by present and future landowners.
The primary means of carrying out this promise is by regular monitoring of the property for easement violations. We consider this a mutual effort with the landowners and always invite them to accompany us on monitoring visits. We report back to the owner on what we found, including any suggestions for meeting the terms of the easement.
In our experience, easement violations are rare. However, we stand ready to defend easements if needed, and maintain funding for this purpose. In addition, we are able to access easement defense insurance through the Terra Firma program of the Land Trust Alliance.
