Blue Mountain Land Trust

Blue Mountain Land Trust takes its stewardship role seriously. Once it accepts a conservation easement, the Land Trust must protect the property forever, "in perpetuity". This is a significant commitment of the limited personal and financial resources of any Trust, but it is a promise that can never be ignored or broken. Consequently, the members of the Land Trust's Board of Directors must carefully evaluate each proposed easement with respect to the Land Trust's conservation goals and managerial abilities.

Blue Mountain Land Trust's conservation goals are sufficiently broad to include a wide variety of properties. In support of these goals, the Trust uses the following criteria to evaluate lands being considered for protection by the Land Trust, by asking if the land has one or more of the following characteristics:

• Is it habitat for endangered, threatened, or rare species?
• Does it contain exemplary natural ecosystems such as old-growth forests, migrating bird habitat and/or wintering areas?
• Is it valuable for timber or agricultural production?
• Does it include shoreline and riparian areas?
• Does it include wetlands, floodplains, or other lands important for the protection of water quality?
• Is it undeveloped land in close proximity to urban development?
• Does it include parcels that could be connected to from greenbelt corridors between privately protected or publicly held properties?
• Does it include unique local scenic viewpoints or outstanding physical features that help define the character of our locale and enhance our community's sense of place?
• Is it a heritage site of historic and/or prehistoric value?

The Blue Mountain Land Trust must also be confident that it can adequately fulfill its stewardship responsibility for each property or easement which it accepts. Some of the questions that must be answered are:

• Is the land currently protected?
• Could another organization better protect the property?
• Can a practical management plan be developed?
• Can the Land Trust protect the property in perpetuity?
• Is a funding source in place to support on-going monitoring?

Donors must rely on their own attorneys, appraisers, and tax specialists in order to insure that they receive personal and objective representation during negotiations and appropriate benefits from the transfer.

As the Land Trust considers each proposal for land protection, it must determine how it would best hold its interest in the property. Conservation easements, outright land gifts, and trade property are the usual methods of acceptance. Other arrangements may be negotiated. For more information, please call the Blue Mountain Land Trust at 509-525-3136. Your inquiry will be treated as confidential and without further obligation.