- Respond to landowner required notices or requests for interpretation or approvals in a timely and consistent manner, as specified in the conservation agreement deed or in a written procedure.
- Establish written procedures to guide the land trust’s decision-making regarding approvals and permitted rights.
- Maintain a permanent record of all notices, approvals, denials, interpretations and the exercise of any significant permitted rights.
Background
Many conservation agreements contain specific reserved rights or require that the land trust approve certain landowner actions. It is essential that land trusts track these rights and approvals in order to evaluate their capacity to steward the conservation agreement, respond to landowner information requests and prepare for any enforcement or defense actions. A land trust should have a paper file system or database for tracking this information. For every conservation agreement, the land trust should have complete information about the exercise of reserved rights or any granted or denied approvals. Land trusts should promptly respond to landowner requests for approvals to exercise reserved rights.