{"pk":60718,"title":"Enforcing Perpetual Conservation Easements Against Third-Party Violators","subtitle":null,"abstract":"Among the most daunting challenges the holder of a perpetual  conservation easement faces is the enforcement of the easements it  holds, for all time, and against all violators. National organizations  estimate that at least forty million acres of land in the United States  are protected with perpetual conservation easements. Each of these  conservation easements is held by an entity, either a government agency  or a tax-exempt, non-profit land trust, charged with the responsibility  of enforcing easement violations against any and all violators. Holders  must contend with violations caused by landowners and third parties. In  the latter instance, someone who is not the owner of the  easement-protected property enters the land by trespass without the  knowledge or permission of the landowner or the easement holder, and  violates the conservation easement. A Land Trust Alliance (Alliance)  survey, specifically designed to gather information on conservation  easement violations, reveals that behind successor-generation  landowners, \nthird parties are the most frequent class of easement violators\n.  The findings of this survey track those of an earlier Alliance survey  and are consistent with violation reporting in the most recent Alliance  census. Further, anecdotal reporting of conservation easement violations  indicates that many violations are caused by third parties—possibly as  much as forty percent. \nViolations caused by  landowners whose lands are protected with conservation easements present  fairly linear practical and legal avenues for resolution. The easement  holder has an established means of reaching the landowner through the  conservation easement document. When a third party causes a violation,  the legal and practical avenues are less clear. Part II of this Article  explores the legal and practical avenues available for pursuing  third-party violators in the context of holders’ responsibilities  regarding the applicable law of perpetual conservation easements. Part  III identifies the tools available for conservation easement drafting,  stewardship, management, and enforcement of third-party violations. Part  IV distills lessons learned from litigated and non-litigated cases of  third-party violations. The Article concludes by offering practical  guidance to easement holders anticipating or addressing third-party  violations.","language":"en","license":{"name":"","short_name":"","text":null,"url":""},"keywords":[{"word":"Conservation Easements, third-party violators, environmental law, conservation, environmental protection, environment, perpetual conservation easement"}],"section":"Articles","is_remote":true,"remote_url":"https://escholarship.org/uc/item/75z1t5kp","frozenauthors":[{"first_name":"Jessica","middle_name":"E.","last_name":"Jay","name_suffix":"","institution":"","department":""}],"date_submitted":"2014-01-04T16:24:55Z","date_accepted":"2014-01-04T16:24:55Z","date_published":"2014-01-01T00:00:00Z","render_galley":null,"galleys":[{"label":"","type":"pdf","path":"https://journalpub.escholarship.org/uclalaw_jelp/article/60718/galley/46682/download/"}]}