LAND TRUST:
A land trust is an independent, nonprofit organization that includes as all or part of its mission the active conservation of land and water resources. Land trusts accomplish this through a variety of methods, most frequently through conservation easement acquisition or by stewardship of such easements. Land trusts work closely with land owners who are interested in either donating or selling their development rights on a property under mutually agreeable terms designed to protect the property's important land and water resources in perpetuity. As in the case of agricultural conservation easements which we support here in Indian River County, this allows ranchers to continue to operate their land under easement with oversight of the easement terms by the land trust or government agency.

Land trusts often work cooperatively with government agencies to acquire or manage land, research open space needs and priorities, or assist in the development of resource protection plans within a given community. The majority of land trusts work closely within the communities or regions in which they operate rather than expanding their scope to a national level. They focus on properties that may not be large enough to attract the attention of national conservation organizations but which are critical to the preservation of natural resources at the community level. In fact, national conservation organizations rely on land trusts to supplement their efforts on the local level in an effort to protect and preserve as much of our natural habitat and resources as possible. What results is a nationwide continuum of conservation.

A vast majority of land trusts nationwide participate in the 1500 member Land Trust Alliance, an organization that defines and administers stringent standards and practices among land trusts to ensure that land protection projects are conducted in a fully professional manner. Because land trusts are private organizations, they are able to act more quickly and be more flexible than can public agencies when opportunities arise to save environmentally significant land at risk for development. Additionally, because of the nonprofit status of land trusts, they are able to provide donors with a variety of tax benefits when donating land, conservation easements, or funds to assist with the acquisition of land for preservation. These benefits are often the incentives that help landowners and supporters make the leap into conservation.

CONSERVATION EASEMENT:
A conservation easement (or conservation restriction) is a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permanently limits certain uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. It allows landowners to continue to own and use their land, and to sell it, lease it or pass it on to heirs.

Conservation Easements are very popular. In the decade between 1990 and 2000, the amount of land protected by local and regional land trusts by using easements increased more than five-fold to 2.6 million acres. Landowners have found that conservation easements can be flexible tools, and yet provide a permanent guarantee that the land won't ever be developed.

Conservation easements are used to protect all types of land, including coastlines; farms and ranchlands; historical or cultural landscapes; scenic views; streams and rivers; trail corridors; wetlands; wildlife areas; and working forests.

People place conservation easements on their property because they love the land and water resources they encompass, and want to protect their land from inappropriate development while maintaining their private ownership of the property. Granting an easement to a conservation organization that qualifies under the Internal Revenue Code as a "public charity" - like the Indian River Land Trust - can yield income and estate tax savings. Moreover, land trusts have the expertise and experience to work with landowners and ensure that the land will remain permanently protected.

When you enter into a conservation easement agreement with a land trust, you give up some of the rights associated with the land. For example, you might give up the right to build additional residences, while retaining the right to produce crops. Future owners also will be bound by the easement's terms. The land trust is responsible for making sure the easement's terms are followed.

Perhaps most important, a conservation easement can be essential for passing land on to the next generation. By removing the land's development potential, the easement lowers its real estate market value, which in turn lowers estate tax. Whether the easement is donated during life or by will, it can make a critical difference in the heirs' ability to keep the land intact. Furthermore, if one family heir prefers cash from an estate, the sale of an easement essentially allows for a partial liquidation of that estate that keeps the land intact for another heir who prefers to conserve the property.

The land trust is responsible for enforcing the restrictions that the easement document spells out. Therefore, the land trust monitors the property on a regular basis -- typically once a year - to determine that the property remains in the condition prescribed by the easement document. The land trust maintains written records of these monitoring visits, which also give the landowner a chance to keep in touch with the land trust. Many land trusts establish endowments to provide for long-term stewardship of the easements they hold.

INTERPRETIVE PLAN:
The role of an interpretive plan is to outline the vision for a project and to identify its unique features. The purpose of the plan is to engage the public by creatively sharing with them the historic and environmental importance of a property.

GREENWAY:
(1) A linear open space established along either a natural corridor, such as a riverfront, stream valley or ridgeline, or over land along a railroad right-of-way converted to recreational use, a canal, a scenic road or other route; (2) any natural or landscaped course for pedestrian or bicycle passage; (3) an open space connector linking parks, natural reserves, cultural features or historic sites with each other and with populated areas; (4) locally, certain strip or linear parks designated as parkway or greenbelt.