Conservation Easement Holder

MTM Environmental, LLC’s goal is to provide specialized expertise to qualified conservation easement holders such as land trusts or government entities, landowners, and their advisors to protect valuable and important conservation values and accomplish the donor’s and holder’s goals.

Our staff can work cooperatively with donors and conservation easement holders to oversee the conservation easement donation process in its entirety, write or review conservation easements and/or baseline documentation reports, or assist in the development and implementation of the donor’s land management goals.

OUR SERVICES

  • Cooperative Conservation Easement Negotiation & Drafting
  • Site Visits & Baseline Documentation Report Writing
  • Land Management Plans, Restoration Plans, and Plan Updates
  • Landscape Scale Mapping & Planning for Multiple Properties
  • Annual Monitoring – Ground, Aerial, and Drone Documentation and Reporting
  • Agricultural & Hunt Leases
  • Wildlife Surveys

In addition to the individual easement donation and land management services above, we offer a wide array of consulting services to new and established land trusts, or other qualified conservation easement holders, including organizational operation and management, planning, and staff training.

  • Program Operation:
    • Template Creation & Staff Training – Conservation Easements, Baselines, & Stewardship
    • Stewardship Database
    • Administrative & File Management
    • Strategic Planning
    • Board Development & Management
  • Stewardship Violation Resolution
  • Condemnation
  • Marketing & Social Media
  • County Greenspace Programs

We want to apply our extensive experience with the donation, stewardship, and administration of conservation easements to effectively document conservation donations and help land trusts or other qualified holders be successful!

Full-Service Project Management

If a landowner is interested in working with conservation easement professionals that can walk them through each stage of the conservation easement donation process, our staff can help to manage and coordinate the following steps in the process:

  • Site Visit – Visit the property to observe the Conservation Values and to discuss the landowner’s goals and objectives.
  • Qualified Holder – Assist in the selection of a land trust or other qualified conservation easement holder that will be the recipient and long-term steward of the landowner’s donation of the conservation easement.
  • Conservation Easement – Based upon conservation values observed in the field, our staff is able to assist with the negotiation of the terms of the conservation easement based upon the landowner and holder’s goals.
  • Baseline Documentation – Site visit and complete ecological inventory of landscape. This report documents the current conditions and unique conservation values of properties intended for protection under a conservation easement, as required by IRS regulations on qualified conservation easement donation. Our conservation specialists will review the text and maps with the landowner and holder to ensure that they accurately represent the existing features and future goals for the property.
  • Advanced Baseline Documentation – We have the expertise to produce documentation over and above what is industry standard. This includes more in-depth reporting of the property including additional site visits intended to capture the property in different seasons, drone imagery when applicable, lengthier ecological sections, and additional or more in-depth property information sections (e.g. Resilience to impacts of climate change, Potential threats to ecological integrity, Problems affecting wildlife diversity, Coastal resources, etc.).
  • Title – Our staff can work with you to obtain a survey, legal description, and title certificate, as necessary.
  • Lien Subordination – Assist in the management of mortgage subordination of existing debts or other incumbrances, if necessary.
  • Mineral Leases – Should the property have existing mineral encumbrances on record, we can work with landowners to quiet the title or engage a geology professional to create a ‘So-Remote’ report, if necessary and feasible.
  • Land Management Plans, Restoration Plans, and Plan Updates – We can create land management plans, restoration plans, and plan updates for a property based upon the landowner objectives and the terms of existing conservation easements.

Individual Document Preparation and Review

If a landowner is interested in working with conservation easement professionals that can walk them through each stage of the conservation easement donation process, our staff can help to manage and coordinate the following steps in the process:

  • Baseline Documentation – Site visit and complete ecological inventory of landscape. This report documents the current conditions and unique conservation values of properties intended for protection under a conservation easement, as required by IRS regulations on qualified conservation easement donation. Our conservation specialists will review the text and maps with the landowner and holder to ensure that they accurately represent the existing features and future goals for the property.
  • Advanced Baseline Documentation – We have the expertise to produce documentation over and above what is industry standard. This includes more in-depth reporting of the property including additional site visits intended to capture the property in different seasons, drone imagery when applicable, lengthier ecological sections, and additional or more in-depth property information sections (e.g. Resilience to impacts of climate change, Potential threats to ecological integrity, Problems affecting wildlife diversity, Coastal resources, etc.).
  • Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) – Our staff can research the current and historical uses of a property in order to see if those activities could pose a threat to the environment and/or human health and provide the associated documentation.
  • Land Management Plans, Restoration Plans, and Plan Updates – We can create land management plans, restoration plans, and plan updates for a property based upon the landowner objectives and the terms of existing conservation easements.
  • Current Condition Reporting – Our staff is able to conduct site visits and produce a current condition report that can supplement the baseline documentation report in the event that a property has undergone significant change, or if the baseline documentation report is lacking key information. We often find that this is the case for properties that were protected when the land trust or qualified government entity was in its infancy, before standards were set, or following catastrophic events such as hurricanes or tornados. This can also be helpful during the transfer process to a new landowner.

Stewardship Services

Having worked to manage a portfolio of ~1,000 conservation easements, we have the experience to help land trusts or other qualified government entities navigate the regular monitoring compliance necessary for every easement as well as how to manage more complex stewardship occurrences:

  • Annual Monitoring – Our staff can perform annual compliance monitoring of existing conservation easement properties on behalf of the land trust or qualified government entity. This can include aerial and ground monitoring as well as the associated interpretation of the conservation easement deed restrictions, the written report, and any recommendation actions.
  • Hunt and Agricultural Leases – Our staff can assist landowners or qualified conservation easement holders in creating, marketing, and managing leases on their properties.
  • Land Management Plans, Restoration Plans, and Plan Updates – We can create land management plans, restoration plans, and plan updates for conservation easement or fee owned property based upon the landowner objectives and the terms of existing conservation easements.
  • Individual Easement Violation and Stewardship Resolution – Unfortunately, violations do occur. We can review individual or recurring conservation easement violations to provide recommendations or help to facilitate a successful resolution that preserves the all-important landowner-conservation easement holder relationship and is in accordance with land trust, federal, state, and local requirements.
  • Esri ArcMap and Stewardship Mapping – We can provide clear and comprehensive custom maps and spatial analysis services utilizing GIS and associated software packages, including: Esri ArcMap, ArcGIS Pro, Google Earth, Gaia GPS, etc. These services include helping your staff to compile and manage your entire conservation easement and fee owned GIS database or even developing maps for grant reports.
  • Drone Imagery – We hold a commercial FAA Part 107 UAV license and provide aerial photography, videography, and land mapping services using drones. Products include high-resolution orthophotos, 3D models, and digital surface models for use in GIS and CAD.
  • County Program Management and Stewardship – If you need assistance in managing a county easement program, including the annual/biannual monitoring and reporting, please let us know. We are familiar with cooperative programs that let land trusts or other qualified government entities assist individual counties with their own easement property and greenspace programs.
  • Current Condition Reporting – Our staff is able to conduct site visits and produce a current condition report that can supplement the baseline documentation report in the event that a property has undergone significant change, or if the baseline documentation report is lacking key information. We often find that this is the case for properties that were protected when the land trust or qualified government entity was in its infancy, before standards were set, or following catastrophic events such as hurricanes or tornados. This can also be helpful during the transfer process to a new landowner.
  • Wildlife Surveys – Our staff can complete wildlife surveys in order to document the occurrence of wildlife species on a property. Our biological staff have experience with many different techniques and technologies that are available.
For more in-depth information on Wildlife Surveys, Click here!

Administrative Consulting and Strategic Planning

We want to help land trusts or other qualified government entities be successful holders by offering our assistance in evaluating and improving their programs and processes:

  • Program Operation Consulting, Staff Training, and Strategic Planning – We can evaluate individual land trust departments and programs or work to assist with a larger scale reconditioning of general operations. Are you achieving your mission? Do you have established standard operating procedures for donations and stewardship? What changes might you consider in processes, people, and/or systems to be more efficient or effective? Are your programs having the desired impact? Are there new programs that you want to establish? You can count on MTM to provide you with specific findings, specific and measurable recommendations, and priorities for improvement.
  • File Audit & Management – Are your permanent files complete or are they missing important items? Are they organized in a manner that works well for your staff? Are the physical permanent files safe?
  • File Remediation – If your files are lacking certain information, let us help you track it down. Do your files need to have a better organizational system for staff to use them effectively and efficiently?
  • Template Creation and/or Review of Baselines, Annual Site Visit Reports, Reserved Rights Requests, etc. – Perpetual land protection depends first and foremost on the quality of conservation easements and baseline documentation. With our experience in land protection as well as stewardship, we can assist you in reviewing and revamping your templates for baseline reports and annual monitoring reports. We can also assist with other templates such as land management plan acceptance letters, reserved right request notification forms and approval forms, template letters to landowners, or anything else that you may need for the long-term stewardship of your conservation easement properties.
  • Landscape Scale Planning – MTM staff can work with the landowners or land trusts/qualified government entities to develop a holistic approach to landscape scale planning and management; aiming to reconcile the competing objectives of environmental conservation and economic activities across a given landscape. We can use this as a protection planning tool by producing maps and GIS depicting where you have worked to protect land to date, and help you to identify where you would like to work in the future.
  • Strategic Planning – We customize each and every planning process to meet the needs and desired outcomes of our clients. We are committed to the creation of a process and plan for every organization that is inclusive, actionable, and integrated.
  • Administrative Management – We can assist in strengthening the administrative side of the organization. This can include everything from staff property inventory to database management and communication management.

Staff Training

We have significant experience in training land trust staff, program management, and interconnectivity.  We can help you build a new program, or we can provide training for your existing staff.

Land Trust/Qualified Government Entity Staff Training – We can help to train your protection staff in effectively and efficiently managing landowner relationships and donated conservation easement project management, i.e. initial site visits, landowner review and comprehension, and handling the many steps required for managing multiple easement donations. For your stewardship staff, we offer training on how to conduct fieldwork for baseline documentation reports, current conditions reports and annual site visits, as well as tips for using that field information to write a baseline. We are well versed in landowner relations – how to build them and how to maintain them – these relationships and the associated information and communication is critical for preventing conservation easement violations. Additional training can include: Reserve Right Requests, Condemnations, and Minor and Major Violations.

Development and Marketing

We can work with you to improve your development and marketing presence, in print or online:

  • Development – Educational programs and field days – We can help you develop field days to engage your landowners or to showcase a beautiful easement property. We can also help you to coordinate educational programs, including continuing education for professionals, or other outreach events.
  • Marketing & Social Media – websites, materials, etc. – If you need to revitalize your website, social media presence, or print materials, we can help!

Board Development and Management

There’s no substitute for a dynamic, engaged, informed, and effective non-profit Board of Directors!

Board Development and Management – We know what an empowered and effective board looks like, how difficult it is to recruit and maintain the right board for your organization, and how to keep board members engaged! We have significant experience with the tools and strategies available to keep your Board engaged.

*Note: We cannot guarantee that there will not be an audit of the conservation easement, or that the conservation easement donation will qualify for a federal tax deduction and/or state tax credits. We will offer the best professional advice available to ensure the conservation easement and accompanying documents are accurate and in compliance with federal, state and local laws and best management practices.

** Note this is not a substitution for review of an appraisal report by another qualified appraiser, nor is this a guarantee of the accuracy of the valuation determined by the appraiser(s). We are not appraisers qualified to determine the value of a conservation easement but we do have extensive experience reviewing conservation easement appraisal reports and IRS Form 8283 for consistency with the conservation easement documents.