The Soft Sell
The Nature Conservancy has launched its public effort on behalf of saving the conservation easement deduction with an educational program on the benefits of easements. The Conservation Easement segment of the website is designed as a primer on the benefits of easements and is the feature headline on the TNC front page.
The new Executive Director of the Land Trust of Virginia sees opportunity in the recent Supreme Court ruling there shooting down current land planning measures. The Leesburg Today profiles Tim Warman, noting he took his new job just two days before the ruling. But Warman thinks trusts have a duty to step up while governmental bodies try to figure out how to proceed.
"“Anyone concerned about Virginia’s quality of life and economic competitiveness should be very worried. This makes the work of the private nonprofit more important than ever.” Warman pointed out that not only conservationists should be concerned. “We’re not just losing our past. We’re defacing our future,” he said. The Supreme Court decision points out that there is a role for privately owned trusts in land conservation, Warman said this week. “You can’t depend on the government to do everything,” he said. He predicted there will be a number of landowners who will come to the land trust now to talk about placing their land under conservation easement because of concern over the impact of the court decision and because they offer landowners a “real option” to development and an opportunity to protect their land. "
Finally, an interesting debate has popped up on the Land Trust listserv over the use of "land trust" or "conservancy".... is there a preferred term? In my short time doing this, I've noticed that the terms seem to be interchangible, but for public clarity, there could be some value in deciding to go with one term or the other. Thoughts?
The new Executive Director of the Land Trust of Virginia sees opportunity in the recent Supreme Court ruling there shooting down current land planning measures. The Leesburg Today profiles Tim Warman, noting he took his new job just two days before the ruling. But Warman thinks trusts have a duty to step up while governmental bodies try to figure out how to proceed.
"“Anyone concerned about Virginia’s quality of life and economic competitiveness should be very worried. This makes the work of the private nonprofit more important than ever.” Warman pointed out that not only conservationists should be concerned. “We’re not just losing our past. We’re defacing our future,” he said. The Supreme Court decision points out that there is a role for privately owned trusts in land conservation, Warman said this week. “You can’t depend on the government to do everything,” he said. He predicted there will be a number of landowners who will come to the land trust now to talk about placing their land under conservation easement because of concern over the impact of the court decision and because they offer landowners a “real option” to development and an opportunity to protect their land. "
Finally, an interesting debate has popped up on the Land Trust listserv over the use of "land trust" or "conservancy".... is there a preferred term? In my short time doing this, I've noticed that the terms seem to be interchangible, but for public clarity, there could be some value in deciding to go with one term or the other. Thoughts?
posted by Pat Burns | 9:30 PM
1 Comments:
I don't know. Land trust sounds a bit too corporate. The whole "trust-busting" of the 20's kind of solidified that term in a more negative light. However, if you think of it as a "Family Trust" or "Communitty Trust" it suddenly is much more appealing.
Conservancy isn't too bad but I would attach another descriptive term on to it...like Land Conservancy (yeah that was almost orginal) or Neighborhood Conservancy.
Anyone else want to throw some ideas out there?
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