By working with the West Hartford Land Trust, you can decide the best conservation tool to use to protect your land. You
can select from a number of tools, including the outright donation of your property, the donation or sale of a
conservation easement that permanently restricts development, the bargain sale of your property, and several other
variations. Always get legal advice before embarking on such a decision.
Someone is about to develop a beautiful piece of land in my community! What can I do to stop it? The US
Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service reports that between 1997 and 2001, 2.2 million
acres were lost to development each year (2001 Annual Natural Resources Inventory). The Land Trust Alliance land
trust census reports that from 1990 to 2000, local and regional land trusts conserved open space at a rate of about
500,000 acres per year. Many of the nation’s land trusts were formed to address this problem – conserving our
precious landscapes before they are lost forever to development. However, whether to develop or conserve a particular
parcel of land is a complex decision that depends on many criteria and local concerns.
Please note that a land trust must be selective in choosing land-saving projects. Unless the land trust exercises care
in choosing its projects, it may find itself stuck with a property or a conservation easement that serves little public
interest, is very costly to manage, or does not really fit with the land trust's purposes. A land trust that does not carefully
select its projects may open itself to public criticism, credibility problems and even legal problems.
So get to know the West Hartford Land Trust and volunteer your time, support it financially, or even donate land or a
conservation easement. That way, you can help your community protect the land that you think is culturally,
economically or environmentally important.
Also, you may want to get involved in your state or local planning activities. Planning agencies often provide
opportunities for public input on development issues that affect citizens and you can request to be placed on their
mailing lists to receive updates on current and future plans for your area. Citizen input can improve the planning
process and positively affect future developments that may otherwise be detrimental to the overall health of your
community.
How can I help in achieving the goal of land conservation?
About half of the nation's land trusts are staffed entirely by volunteers. Other land trusts use volunteers on a continuing
basis for various needs, including, sometimes, in helping to manage the land. Land trusts depend on your
membership dues and contributions to save America's open spaces. Join the West Hartford Land Trust and ask how
you can become active and supportive.
Thank you for your interest in saving land!
