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Working Lands Conservation Easement Programs:
Are they right for your Soil and Water Conservation District?

Below you will find helpful guidance regarding conservation easements as a tool to support farmland preservation in North Carolina.    We highly encourage you to watch each session because each offers new and helpful discussions and insights.  Each video requires a short registration to view so that we can track metrics to then report back to our funders.

We are grateful to the NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission and the NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services Farmland Preservation Division for their support.

Questions?  Gail Hughes ghughes@ncsoilwater.org

Ready for the next step?  Is your District interested in taking the next step and would like to establish an easement program or reinvigorate an existing program?  The Foundation has funding to be able to guide your District one-on-one through the whole process up through the first application.  Email Amanda with your interest: asand@ncsoilwater.org

Take our survey on your District conservation easement program needs – Does your District have an easement program and need additional support for resources, such as training, software for document management, and equipment?  Or, is your District going to establish a program and would like support in sourcing the tools to help make program management easier?  Take our brief survey.

*** IMPORTANT NOTE: the 101 & 102 sessions are different and both should be watched to get the full introductory training
***ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE: Supervisor Training Credits are available with prior approval by your area coordinator.  Contact them for guidance.

Download the Virtual Training Agenda for Conservation Easements 101 & 102 – January 2022

Conservation Easements 101
January 18, 2022
  • Conservation Easements 101 – January 18, 2022 – training video (~ 3 hours)
    • REGISTER TO VIEW
    • Minute marks are denoted below to navigate to a specific speaker within the video
    • Note that supervisor training credits are only available if you watched the training live or are viewing the recording in a group session that has had pre-approval by your area coordinator.  Please contact your area coordinator to confirm pre-requisites for receiving supervisor training credits.
  • Introduction to Easements – who/what/how
    • NC ADFP Trust Fund, Evan Davis – (1:20:15 minute mark)
    • Working Lands Trust, Garrett James Budds – (0:41:50 minute mark, tech issues, resumes at 0:55:00)
    • Natural Resource Conservation Service, Brian Loadholt – (1:46:16 minute mark)
    • NC Division of Soil and Water Conservation, Julie Henshaw – (2:13:25 minute mark)
  • Soil and Water Conservation District Experiences
    • Buncombe SWCD, Ariel Zijp (0:11:28 minute mark)
    • Cabarrus SWCD, Daniel McLellan;  Lincoln SWCD, Evan Crawley; Haywood SWCD, Ryan Manning (2:23:27 minute mark)

 

Conservation Easements 101 & 102
January 20, 2022
  • Conservation Easements 101 & 102 – January 20, 2022 – training video (~ 6 hours)
    • REGISTER TO VIEW
    • Minute marks are denoted below to navigate to a specific speaker within the video
    • Note that supervisor training credits are only available if you watched the training live or are viewing the recording in a group session that has had pre-approval by your area coordinator.  Please contact your area coordinator to confirm pre-requisites for receiving supervisor training credits.
  • Introduction to Easements – who/what/how
  • Soil and Water Conservation District Experiences Roundtable
    • Buncombe SWCD, Ariel Zijp;  Lincoln SWCD, Evan Crawley; Durham SWCD, Eddie Culberson (1:53:41 minute mark)
  • Conservation Easements 102 Session – Opening Remarks, Amanda Sand, Foundation (3:02:28 minute mark)
  • District Responsibilities
    • Fiscal Responsibility and Liability – Ariel Zijp, Buncombe SWCD (3:08:25 minute mark)
    • Farm Transition and Estate Planning – Andrew Branan, NCSU Cooperative Extension (3:42:01 minute mark)
  • Monitoring Requirements
    • Conservation Easement Stewardship – Lisa Shealy, Working Lands Trust (4:30:55 minute mark)
  • Bringing Funders Together

 

Conservation Easements 102
January 21, 2022
  • Conservation Easements 102 – January 21, 2022 – training video (~ 3 hours)
    • REGISTER TO VIEW
    • Minute marks are denoted below to navigate to a specific speaker within the video
    • Note that supervisor training credits are only available if you watched the training live or are viewing the recording in a group session that has had pre-approval by your area coordinator.  Please contact your area coordinator to confirm pre-requisites for receiving supervisor training credits.
  • District Responsibilities
    • Farm Transition and Estate Planning – Andrew Branan, NCSU Cooperative Extension (0:08:40 minute mark)
    • Fiscal Responsibility and Liability – Ariel Zijp, Buncombe SWCD (1:21:38 minute mark, recorded on 1/20/22)
  • Monitoring Requirements
    • Conservation Easement Stewardship – Lisa Shealy, Working Lands Trust (0:54:35 minute mark)
  • Bringing Funders Together
Conservation Easement Stewardship & Monitoring
May 2022
  • Recording of training (led by Lisa Shealy of Working Lands Trust) ~ 5.5 total hours (2 videos)
Conservation Easement Software Demo: Landscape
July 14, 2022
Conservation Easements & Farm Succession Training
September 2022
Conservation Easements Workshop for Districts
June 2023
  • Recording of workshop held in Duplin County, NC (part of regional training series)

 

Contact Information

NC ADFP Trust Fund, Evan Davis
https://www.ncadfp.org/

Working Lands Trust
https://www.workinglandstrust.org/

Natural Resources Conservation Service – NC, Brian Loadholt
NRCS-ACEP-ALE Website

NC Cooperative Extension, Andrew Branan
https://farmlaw.ces.ncsu.edu/

NC Division of Soil and Water Conservation, Julie Henshaw
http://www.ncagr.gov/SWC
http://www.ncagr.gov/SWC/easementprograms/CREP/index.html

Additional Resources

Conserving Working Lands: A Land Legacy Workbook with Tools and Resources to Guide Your Conservation Planning Journey (published 9/24/2015)

NC ADFP Trust Fund: Guidance for Conservation Easement Grantees

NC ADFP Trust Fund: Current Conservation Easement Templates

NC State Extension: Farm Law for Producers and Landowners

NC State Extension: Land Ownership, Liability and the Law (webinar)