Conservation Easements
Conservation easements are often an effective tool for maintaining working forests, protecting environmental values, and protecting communities from excessive development pressure. The Society of American Foresters (SAF) supports conservation easements as one tool for ensuring sustainable forest management and for conserving forestlands.
Public financing of conservation easements should allow for maximum flexibility in negotiating terms and conditions of easements between a willing seller and a willing buyer. Conservation easements should be tailored to the individual property in order to protect the property’s conservation values. Subsequent forest management on the property should be done in accordance with a forest management plan prepared by a professional forester. Public agencies involved in purchasing conservation easements should have strict internal policies to ensure that prices offered for easements are fair. Monitoring and enforcement of easements are also essential so that the agency meets its fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers. Programs, such as the Forest Legacy Program, should continue to focus on supporting sustainably-managed working forests.