Action Steps Land Trusts Can Take When Faced with an Encroachment

This is a sample management procedure for free property encroachment from the accredited Roxbury Land Trust.

Most land trusts adopt at least three categories of violations: minor, moderate and major. Some land trusts separate technical deficiencies from minor violations and thus have four categories of violations: technical, minor, moderate and major. These brief descriptions show how many land trusts define categories of easement violations. Your land trust should determine which approach best serves your mission, will work for your land trust procedurally and is most acceptable to your landowners and your community.

Materials from Mark Pennington's Rally 2012 presentation on managing hazardous substance risks in conservation transactions.

This is a sample volunteer sign-in sheet from the accredited Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy.

The possibility that a land trust could be required to pay substantial fees and costs if it loses a legal challenge can be a significant deterrent. States take a variety of approaches to costs and fees, so as a first step, land trusts should have experienced local counsel in their state determine what the standard practice or statute is so that you can draft to prevail on the fee recovery clause, without exposing your land trust to prevailing party risks.