Conservation Easements and Open Space Management
The Coastal Training Program was recently awarded a Rhode Island Foundation mini-grant to help fund the development of guidance manuals and training addressing conservation easements and the management of open space in conservation subdivisions in Rhode Island.
Major Goals:
- To ensure that target audiences, particularly attorneys and planners, working with conservation easements thoroughly understand the appropriate Rhode Island legal foundation and proper procedures for preparing, recording and enforcing conservation easements to guarantee that conservation parcels will remain protected for generations.
- To ensure that the target audiences understand the options for the ownership and management of conservation parcels as well as the elements of an effective stewardship program for protected open space lands.
Why is it Needed?
The need for this specific type of training has been identified by many of the participants of several Conservation Development workshops that the CTP and RIDEM Office of Sustainable Watersheds have delivered. The need was also indicated through a recently released DEM Open Space Inventory of all publicly protected open space parcels. The inventory revealed that many of the open space parcels that were created via cluster developments over the years did not have recorded easements, therefore not ensuring adequate protection of the land from subsequent development. Since CTP and RIDEM are advocating and training local officials to implement conservation development, it is important to develop these manuals and conduct training to ensure that community officials properly address these critical issues.
Who Will Benefit?
While the training will be targeted toward attorneys and planners, other groups such as municipal planning boards, land trusts, conservation commissions and others would greatly benefit from the information provided. Attendees may receive a Certificate of Participation, on-going educational credits (if applicable) and most importantly the knowledge and resources needed to guarantee the protection of open space in perpetuity.
What will be Provided?
- Conservation Easement Guidance Manual: A conservation easement guidance manual will be developed to clearly explain the many issues involved with conservation easements in Rhode Island. Model conservation easement language, annotated where applicable, will be developed, explaining such issues as legal standards and the proper procedures for recording easements, monitoring and enforcement and liability and insurance.
- Open Space Management and Stewardship Guidance Manual: An open space management and stewardship guidance manual, annotated where applicable, will be developed to describe the different options for ownership and management of open space identified in conservation easements and the associated stewardship responsibilities and procedures.
Training Course: A training course will be developed to educate the target audiences on the information described in the previous two activities. The training will be of sufficient detail to be eligible for attorneys and planners to receive continuing education credits.
Calendar
1/17/08 – Conservation Development Workshop
1/24/08 – Conservation Design DVD Workshop
Community Connection RI
Calendar
of events in related topics by Grow Smart RI and the Narragansett Bay Research Reserve
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