Spotlight on Updates: Conservation Easement Monitoring and Conservation Property Inspections Part 2

This past March we updated our Requirements Manual, which helps land trusts to be successful in the accreditation process.  We’ve put a summary of changes on our website for those who are interested in seeing all the changes we made.

While most requirements were not changed, there were two major changes in the stewardship section. We highlighted the first one in last month's newsletter, and the second one is detailed below.

What changed and why? Part 2:
The Stewardship 1.4 requirement specifies that monitoring/inspection reports need to be completed within three months of the monitoring or inspection date. During the comment period, many respondents expressed the need for greater clarity for remote monitoring/inspections about the image date, date of the report, and the date of reviewing the image. Based on the feedback, the Commission added clarification that the date of the image and review of the image by the land trust should be in the same calendar year. This requirement accommodates that there are often gaps between when the image is taken and when the image is received and reviewed; however, it avoids the risk of there being a missed visit due to a poor quality image, the risk of action not being timely if issues are noted, and the risk to Terrafirma insurance coverage if the claim is not timely. Some examples are provided below.

• A land trust reviewing a March 2026 image in August 2026 would meet the requirement as both dates are in the same calendar year. If the image is insufficient, the land trust still has an opportunity to monitor/inspect the property.

• A land trust reviewing a March 2025 image in March 2026 as the 2025 monitoring event would not meet the requirement as the dates are in different calendar years.

• A land trust monitoring in person in May 2024, then reviewing a November 2024 image to complete a report in May 2025, then monitoring in person in May 2026 would not meet the requirement for annual monitoring. It also does not meet the requirement for a timely report as the 2024 image and the 2025 report are in different calendar years.

How will the updates be implemented?
All changes will be effective in 2027 to allow land trusts time to revise their practices as needed. When the time comes, applicants must provide sufficient documentation to confirm implementation of the changed requirement.