vikram krishnamurthydirector of land conservationeastern shore land conservancyvkrishna@eslc.orgwww.eslc.org

19 may 2009

ESLC Stewardship Initiative

Violations Risk Assessment

Easement Monitoring Toolbox

ESLC Monitoring Protocol

General considerations

for managing risk

Specific practices to reduce

risk

Founded in 1990 6 mid-shore counties: Cecil (south of

Chesapeake-Delaware Canal), Kent, Queen Anne’s, Caroline, Talbot, Dorchester

To date, preserved over 48,000 acres, ~250 properties protected through easement or acquisition assistance

3 preserves (ESLC-owned) Over 90% of easement co-held with MET

Historically monitored easements every 2 years (odd-even)

Monitoring mostly volunteer-based; assigned to individual staff; coordination

2005 Strategic Plan – Stewardship Initiative

2007 – LTA Accreditation pilot land trust 2007 – Hired first full-time stewardship

position

An approved guide to meeting LTA accreditation standards/criteria

A strategy that will work for every land trust

A time-tested approach A guarantee that methods will

prevent all violations A final product

Indicator Practice 11.C(Easement Monitoring):

“The land trust monitors its easement properties regularly, at least annually, in a manner appropriate to the size and restrictions of each property, and keeps documentation (such as reports, updated photographs and maps) of each monitoring activity.” (from LTA Standards & Practices)

ESLC Strategic Plan approved by Board of Directors, 2005

Specific goals to:-Shift to annual easement monitoring-Assist partners with monitoring obligations -Assess portfolio for risk of violations-Adjust monitoring practices to minimize risk and improve stewardship

Programmatic infrastructure:

Easement portfolio/file review Database creation Integration of GIS data – not just

maps Violations risk assessment

Principles of Risk Management:1.Identify, characterize and assess

threats2.Assess the vulnerability of critical

assets to specific threats3.Determine the risk (i.e. the expected

consequences of attacks on assets)4.Identify ways to reduce those risks5.Prioritize risk reduction measures

based on a strategy

1. Identify, characterize and assess threats

-Developed risk spectrum (based on LTA risk spectrum for amending easements)

-Note overlap of categories and scoring

2. Assess the vulnerability of critical assets to specific threats

-Easement/portfolio review, stewardship history

-Apply risk criteria to easement characteristics

3. Determine the risk (i.e. the expected consequences of attacks on assets)

-Apply risk “score” to derive rating of High, Moderate, or Low

-Identify unique nature of risk (publicity, landowner, change of ownership, etc.)

4. Identify ways to reduce those risks

-Assess tools in the monitoring toolbox and which are most effective for unique easement characteristics

5. Prioritize risk reduction measures based on a strategy

-Developed ESLC monitoring protocol to apply to all easements based on risk rating

Feedback mechanism: Update risk rating for all easements annually to revisit assessment

Landowner Communications(relationships, newsletters, mailings)

Monitoring ownership status(SDAT review, disclosure, new owners)

Full site visit (advantages, disadvantages) Other methods (aerial photo interpretation,

windshield surveys, aerial monitoring) “People” resources (volunteers, staff,

board, partners)

Based on the results of the initial violations risk assessment, current organizational capacity for stewardship, monitoring methods and requirements for LTA accreditation, following is a proposed protocol for monitoring ESLC-held easements and preserves.

Annual review and update of stewardship files Annual landowner and property transfer research Annual aerial/satellite image inspection – update,

review, file documentation Annual landowner communication by phone,

stewardship newsletter, and additional mailings Annual review/update of easement risk rating Increased frequency of above actions as

necessary

Annual site visit/inspection and documentation performed by ESLC Stewardship Manager, with landowner or representative present

Follow-up site visits, aerial monitoring, windshield inspections and more frequent landowner communication as necessary

Site visit participation by representative of easement co-holder whenever possible

Annual site visit/inspection and documentation performed by ESLC Stewardship Manager or other Conservancy staff, with landowner or representative present whenever possible

Follow-up site visits, aerial monitoring, windshield inspections and more frequent landowner communication as necessary

Site visit participation by representative of easement co-holder whenever possible

Annual visual inspection via aerial monitoring and/or windshield survey

Rotation of ESLC staff site visit/inspection every three years

Supplemental site visits performed by ESLC volunteer easement monitors

Follow-up site visits, aerial monitoring, windshield inspections and more frequent landowner communication as necessary

At least quarterly site visit/inspection performed by ESLC Stewardship Manager or other Conservancy staff

Ensure proper signage as appropriate Maintain implementation progress of long-

term management plans More frequent site visits and neighbor

communication as necessary

Meet/exceed monitoring requirements for federal, state and local programs and co-held easements

Continue ongoing communication with county planning staff to ensure notice from the counties in case of building/development permit applications on protected land.

Perform annual site visit/inspection for all federally-funded projects

Ensure that state program requirements are met (Rural Legacy Program 3-yr cycle, MET joint monitoring visit 5-yr cycle)

Bouplon, Renee J., and Benda Lind, Conservation Easement Stewardship, Land Trust Alliance, 2008.

Land Trust Alliance, Amending Conservation Easements: Evolving Practices and Legal Principles, Land Trust Alliance, 2007.

Land Trust Alliance, Land Trust Standards and Practices, Land Trust Alliance, revised 2004.

Pritchard, Carl L. Risk Management: Concepts and Guidance, Taylor and Francis, Inc., 2005.

vikram krishnamurthydirector of land conservationeastern shore land conservancyvkrishna@eslc.orgwww.eslc.org

19 may 2009