Forest Conservation Easements for Land Trusts Program

Land trust must be accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission. However, applicants do not need to be members of the Land Trust Alliance to apply for or received grant funding. Non-member land trusts are encouraged to learn more about the benefits of Land Trust Alliance membership.

Projects must provide permanent protection via conservation easements consistent with the provisions of Environmental Conservation Law Article 49 that satisfy the minimum conservation easement requirements contained in the Term Sheet in Appendix C. The easement must explicitly run in perpetuity, and the applicant (or another eligible land trust identified in the application and expressly collaborating with the applicant on the project) must be the intended long-term easement holder. The conservation easement must be registered with DEC. A Notice of Grant, Appendix F, must be attached to the final conservation easement as an exhibit.

Forests (as defined in the Term Sheet Appendix C) must cover at least 50% of the protected property. Lands used for agricultural cannot exceed 25% of the protected property. Sustainable forest management must NOT be a prohibited use (although it may be prohibited on portions of the property, where appropriate).

If timber harvests are permitted, they must be conducted pursuant to a forest management plan under the supervision of a qualified forester (as further described in the Term Sheet in Appendix C) and approved by the easement holder (except in limited cases for on-site uses of timber harvested from the protected property).

Acquisition must be able to close during the grant period, however, only projects that have not yet closed prior to signature of the Grant Agreement are eligible. It is recommended projects do not close until all required pre-closing items on the Due Diligence Checklist in Appendix B are satisfied as failure to complete them may jeopardize awardee’s eligibility to receive grant funding.