Jon Christensen’s article, “Who Will Take Over
the Ranch?” is very timely, and covered a lot of ground (HCN,
3/29/04: Who Will Take Over the Ranch?).
I own a small
ranch in a sensitive area in northeast Washington, and have spent
the last three years discussing conservation easements with a land
trust located in another county.
An important point that
Christensen did not cover: With many land trusts, the landowner is
required to pay for a stewardship endowment up front, monies needed
to support legal defense of the easements “in perpetuity.” Not all
land trusts are rich.
I believe that some sort of pooled
funding will eventually be available to help defend easements in
cases where, in the future as the protected land changes hands, new
owners might be less willing to support the original conservation
values.
With the recent economic decline and much-reduced
retirement income, I found myself unwilling and unable to fork out
the amount needed for the endowment. That’s too bad, but life
ain’t always perfect, and I’ll keep working to protect
my place for the future.
Andy
Studebaker
Keller,
Washington
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Easements aren’t easy.
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