Stewardship of Conserved Land

Our staff in the Conservation Stewardship program assists owners of conserved land with connections to resources and ensures that the conservation easement goals are upheld in perpetuity. The continuing commitment of owners of conserved land, assisted by the staff at Vermont Land Trust, ensures conservation in perpetuity.

The staff at the Stewardship program provides services and resource connections to owners of conserved land, maintain land-related records, track changes in ownership, visit conserved land at least annually, answer landowner questions, interpret or approve activities, help correct violations through voluntary compliance or, if necessary, legal proceedings, and support landowners as stewards of their land by offering information on sustainable uses of conserved properties. 

A stewardship endowment funded through contributions from each conservation project and from additional private fundraising and public grant applications supports the work of the staff of the Conservation Stewardship Program. The stewardship endowment is kept in a segregated, donor-restricted account at the Vermont Community Foundation, so that VLT will always have income to cover stewardship responsibilities. 

Quick Answers About Conservation Easements: 

The staff at VLT’s Conservation Stewardship Program assists landowners in continuing their stewardship of their land and their commitment to its conservation. Certain land use activities need to be approved, in writing, ahead of time, so we ask that owners call us as soon as they think they might want to do any of these activities.  We evaluate requests for approval based on the consistency of the activity or structure with the stated purposes of the conservation easement. Almost every conservation easement requires prior written approval before:

• Constructing barns, sugarhouses or other agricultural, forestry or any other structures outside of a designated building envelope, even if only a part of the structure is outside of the building envelope
• Building a house or siting a house
• Building or siting driveways, utility lines, septic systems and water supply
• Relocating a house
• Any Deed for boundary adjustments
• Any Deed for an approved lot
• Any Deed of any portion of the conserved land
• Any lease exceeding 49 years including all renewals and extensions
• Any easement or right of way
• Constructing ponds or reservoirs
• Harvesting timber, which requires approval of a 10 to 20 year forest management plan
• Converting woodland to agricultural use which may require a forest management plan
• Any Home Occupation
• Any business or commercial activity that you want to run from your home, out buildings or land.

Other provisions which may be included in the conservation easement and which may require an approval, waiver or notice include:

• Enlarging or rebuilding the residence in a designated Complex
• Building or enlarging barns and other agricultural structures and forestry structures in a designated Complex
• Selling your conserved land – please give us notice of the name of the new owners
• Right of First Refusal – usually for sale of farms requires 90 days prior notice
• Special Zones such as Ecological Protection Zone or Habitat Clause, Riparian Buffer Zone, Archeological Preservation Zone or Historic Notice or Protection
• Public Access Easement
• Management plan
• Any changes to public access
• Any changes to designated historic buildings

To discuss the protection of new or additional land, contact the Vermont Land Trust office nearest you.

Information on the basic programs of the Vermont Land Trust is available from the Land Trust's Montpelier headquarters.
 

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