If you have ever seen the Joshua’s Trust boundary medallions around, you may have noticed that some are a little different. Medallions that the one pictured here, indicate that the property is a conservation easement. These are managed very differently than the properties with trails.
A conservation easement is a deed restriction that a landowner voluntarily places on their property to protect resources such as productive agricultural land, ground and surface water, wildlife habitat, historic sites or scenic views. The owner’s wishes for their land to remain unchanged is protected, and they usually work with a land trust to establish goals, like improving the forest for wildlife habitat. The property still has a private owner, however now the land trust now has a legal obligation to ensure that the owners are following the terms of the easement. These terms may include language describing prohibited uses such as timber harvesting, constructing buildings, altering any natural water courses, or hunting.
The properties are inspected on an annual basis but can only be entered with the permission of the owner. Many times, there is a house lot on the easement property. Even if it is sold to someone new, the easement remains in perpetuity.
Fee owned properties are those that are completely owned and managed by the Trust. Here, historical sites, forests, wetlands, and trails are managed by volunteers and staff. Management plans are written for each parcel to establish goals. These can be managing invasive plans, wildlife habitat, cleaning up litter, creating a trail, etc.
Some fee owned properties have easements. Our Joshua’s Trust office property, Atwood Farm, had an easement put in place by the previous owner before it was donated. It’s completely owned by the Trust, but the terms of the easement must still be complied with. For example, external changes, other than maintenance, to the house, barn or outbuildings is prohibited. Both types of conservation are essential to preserving land from further development for generations to come. “In nature’s economy the currency is not money, it is life.” — Vandana Shiva
~ Ada Snodgrass