Protecting private land extends into the courtroom

The Land Trust Alliance serves the land trust community in many ways, but one key role it plays is defending the conservation work being done by land trusts across the country. And we do this by keeping our fingers on the pulse of legal news and developments, supporting member land trusts facing legal challenges, and providing resources and support year-round to help land trusts uphold their mission while staying on solid legal and financial ground.

So, how does this work in practice?

Take, for example, the issue of division of land. A conservation easement ­is a legal agreement between a willing landowner and a qualified conservation organization or government agency that conserves land while leaving it in private ownership. Often these agreements include clauses that prevent conserved land from being divided up and sold off separately. Division prohibitions are central to easements nationwide, essential to keeping farmland together and necessary for stewardship to be manageable in perpetuity.

But landowners, faced with increased economic and development pressure, sometimes attempt to divide the land anyway. When a land trust steps in to keep its conservation promise and defend the terms of an easement, the Land Trust Alliance is there to stand with them.

When landowners in Acme Township, Michigan, sought to sell off a parcel of conserved farmland in violation of a valid conservation easement, the Land Trust Alliance partnered with Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, Heart of the Lakes (the Michigan state land trust association) and American Farmland Trust. The organizations recognized that the case posed a broad threat to conservation and acted swiftly and decisively by filing a joint amicus brief in the case — a legal brief supporting the conservation easement.

Here's the good news: The State of Michigan Court of Appeals recently handed down a victory for conservation and conservation easements, a victory that illustrates the power of conservation partnerships and just how strong we can be when we join together.

The result: The court upheld the conservation easement, voided the sale and unified the property once again. Victories like these are crucial to keeping conservation on solid ground. And they are why the Land Trust Alliance is committed to supporting the legal battles that are most important for the land trust community to win.