What is the Vermont Land Trust?
The Vermont Land Trust is a private, nonprofit land conservation organization that is supported by its membership and governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees. We work with landowners — both individuals and families — and with other conservation organizations. We are not connected to state government, but we do work with public agencies at the federal, state, and local levels. What kind of people work and volunteer for VLT?
Lots of different people. Our staff includes professionals with the legal, financial, and fundraising skills that land conservation requires; other staff members have expertise in protecting farmland and natural resources. Our Trustees come from all over Vermont, bringing backgrounds in resource management, farming, law, and business. In some parts of Vermont, advisory committees of local volunteers work directly with our regional directors on community conservation projects. What kind of land does the Vermont Land Trust conserve?
Our primary focus is on permanently conserving productive agricultural and forest lands, in part because these lands help sustain Vermont’s rural economy. We often give priority to properties that are important to maintaining a community’s "sense of place." We also conserve important recreational assets, scenic lands, and wildlife habitat. Our clients are landowners, families, and communities. Guided by the Land Trust’s regional protection priorities, we work with farmers, woodland owners, recreation and wildlife enthusiasts, and other people who love their land. Does the Vermont Land Trust work with local communities?
Yes. The Land Trust can act as a partner to help towns achieve their own vision of the future. We work with town officials and local residents to conserve land that the community identifies as especially important. How is the Vermont Land Trust funded?
We are a member-supported organization. About 29% of our operating income comes from members’ dues and contributions. Another 27% comes from foundation grants and 34% from government funding. Capital gifts, bequests, and contributions from landowners (to help meet the costs of conserving their properties) make up the final 10% of our operating budget. The Vermont Land Trust also receives additional state and private grants to purchase conservation easements and important resource lands. In general, we spend less than 5% of our budget on fundraising staff and activities. Who benefits from land conservation?
Everyone does. For families, land conservation ensures that lands with important personal meaning will be protected. The conservation of farmland ensures that future generations will have an agricultural land base — and when a farm easement is purchased, conservation can make farming and farm ownership more affordable. Foresters, loggers, and truckers benefit from the conservation of good-quality, well-managed woodlands. Hikers, skiers, hunters, and anglers benefit from the recreational access that is often a key piece of Vermont Land Trust conservation projects. The Vermont business community benefits from the conservation of Vermont’s scenic beauty and rural character, two assets that help attract talented employees to Vermont, support its travel industry, and enhance the state’s business climate. Most important, land conservation helps communities achieve their natural resource goals, by protecting the lands that do much to create each town’s distinctive character. How does the Vermont Land Trust conserve land?
We do this primarily by holding conservation easements that landowners voluntarily sell or donate to us. A conservation easement is a legal document that restricts the uses of a property; the landowner sells or donates development rights to a piece of land by placing a conservation easement on it. The land remains in private ownership, and can be used for farming, forestry, recreation, education, and other purposes. Most easements only restrict use of the land for development. Many landowners retain the right to build a limited number of houses for their family’s future needs, or for future financial considerations. Conservation easements are flexible enough to accommodate such needs, as long as natural resource values are protected. How does VLT ensure the perpetual protection of land?
The Vermont Land Trust has established the Conservation Stewardship Program to monitor the conservation easements that we hold, and to make sure their goals are perpetually met. This program is supported in part by an endowment, which is funded through contributions from each conservation project and through other capital gifts. The stewardship endowment is kept separate from our general operating fund, so the Land Trust will always have income to help us meet our stewardship responsibilities. Because the Land Trust accepts these perpetual obligations of stewardship, we do not intend to go out of business. Yet if that were to happen, we have provided that all our conservation easements and stewardship endowments would be transferred to a similar nonprofit conservation organization. Can conservation easements be changed?
Conservation easements are perpetual restrictions that run with the title to the land. Only in rare circumstances are they changed. Any amendment to a conservation easement must be consistent with the terms and conservation intent of the original agreement. Changes may be allowed to correct an error or an ambiguity, to settle a condemnation proceeding, or to allow a minor modification that is consistent with the original conservation purpose. Does VLT dictate how land is managed when it is conserved?
No — the property’s management is left entirely to the landowner, within the limits of the conservation easement. On conserved woodlands, a forest management plan must be prepared and approved before timber is commercially harvested. With a few additions, this plan can usually be the same as the forest management plan that a landowner prepares for enrollment in Vermont’s Current Use Assessment Program. On conserved farms, all generally accepted agricultural practices are permitted. Our Conservation Stewardship Program ensures that the intent of the conservation easement is fulfilled, but it has no involvement in day-to-day decisions and operations. Is public access required on conserved lands?
No, although many landowners choose to allow public access in varying ways. A specific trail easement can be included in the conservation easement, or an access easement can provide for other recreational uses. In most cases, landowners keep the right to restrict or allow public use as they wish. Does the Vermont Land Trust buy development rights?
Sometimes we do — especially when help is available from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board. VHCB was set up by the Vermont Legislature in 1987 to create affordable housing for Vermonters and to conserve and protect Vermont’s farmland, historic properties, important natural areas, and recreational lands. The Vermont Land Trust works with landowners to apply for grants from VHCB. These grants are used to buy development rights — in the form of conservation easements — from the landowners, who are usually farmers. Local fundraising and donations of conservation easements on nearby properties commonly accompany these applications, to stretch even farther the public dollars spent on conservation. Does the Vermont Land Trust itself acquire land?
Sometimes we receive title to land through bequests or gifts. On rare occasions we will purchase a property outright, usually when there is strong support and commitment from the local community. In all these cases, we place a conservation easement on the land and sell it to a person or organization that will maintain the property in agricultural, forestry, or other open space uses. If land that we acquire is especially important to a community or to the general public, we may conserve it and then sell it to a local, state, or federal government agency, to become a park, protected forest, or other publicly owned property. Why doesn't VLT normally own land?
For two reasons. First, we most often conserve working farms, forestland, and family properties, each with its own capable, committed steward — the landowner. Second, the Vermont Land Trust does not have the financial or staff resources to manage land and to cover long–term carrying costs. We usually own property only on a short–term basis, as described above. The Land Trust may consider long-term ownership if it would bring clear public benefits, such as a demonstration of new techniques for land management. Will the assessed value of my property change if I place an easement on my land?
State law requires that land protected with a conservation easement be assessed at its restricted value. The difference between the unrestricted and restricted values varies over time and from place to place. Because of these variations, and because easements are still relatively new in many towns, some Vermont listers have been uncertain about how to properly assess the value of conserved land. It is likely that there will be tax appeals over some assessments before easements become more commonplace and the situation stabilizes. If the land is being actively managed for agriculture or forestry, the owner may wish to enroll the property in the state’s Current Use Assessment Program. What happens to local property taxes when land is conserved?
In 1993, the Vermont Land Trust commissioned a study that analyzed the impact of land conservation on property taxes in six Vermont towns: East Montpelier, Tinmouth, Weston, Londonderry, Rupert, and Orwell. To date, land conservation in these towns has had only minor impacts on the community’s tax base. The study concluded that of the various land use options — including various types and scales of development — conserving land with perpetual easements imposes the least financial burden on the community. The passage in 1997 of Act 60, Vermont’s property tax reform legislation, may actually lessen the impact of land conservation on community tax bases. The great majority of properties on which VLT holds a conservation easement are enrolled in Vermont’s Current Use Assessment Program; and under the statewide property tax for education that Act 60 has created, the owner of a farm or woodlot enrolled in Current Use will pay the same, reduced amount of property tax whether the land is under conservation easement or not. The tax revenue that communities lose because of Current Use will be replaced through state block grants for local schools. Conservation easements may still reduce the value of properties for municipal taxation. However, municipal taxes tend to make up only 20-30 percent of the property tax burden. Also, undeveloped land requires very few municipal services. Does it cost anything to conserve land?
Yes, it does. Landowners who are donating or selling an easement usually pay the costs of their own legal and/or accounting advice. If development rights are being sold, landowners will incur some appraisal costs. When Vermont Land Trust works with landowners who donate conservation easements, we ask that they cover the costs of our staff time spent directly on the project. We also ask them to contribute to our stewardship endowment, which covers the cost of the perpetual responsibility that the Vermont Land Trust takes on when we accept each conservation easement. If a landowner cannot afford these costs, the Vermont Land Trust has limited funds available to help cover staff time and contribute to the stewardship endowment. How can I support the Vermont Land Trust?
By becoming a member. All contributions are tax-deductible and go directly toward our land conservation activities. You will receive our quarterly newsletter and Annual Report, along with invitations to special events such as farm and bike tours, the Annual Meeting, and estate-planning presentations. Also, because we are a 501(c)(3) tax–exempt charitable organization, our members have made many types of gifts to support the Vermont Land Trust. These often include bequests of land, donations of appreciated securities, and gifts that provide life income for the donor. All of these gifts both support the Land Trust’s conservation programs and provide significant tax advantages to donors.
These links provide other information about VLT's family lands conservation program: The following links provide information for you, if you are interested in conserving land that does not fall into this category: | 
