Standard 8: Evaluating and Selecting Conservation Projects
The land trust carefully evaluates and selects its conservation projects.
Background
Having choices about which land protection projects to undertake may seem like a luxury. Many land protection projects are done under great time pressure; the tendency is to protect now, think later. Sometimes that is inevitable. Yet unless the land trust exercises care in reviewing all of its projects, it may find itself with a property or a conservation agreement that serves little public interest, is costly to manage or defend, or does not fit with the land trust’s mission. Every land trust must find a balance between being strategic and being opportunistic. Land trusts that focus on their strategic priorities typically find that they can raise more funds and protect more land. These land trusts work with their partners to develop conservation priorities appropriate for their community. A land trust that does not prioritize and carefully select its projects may open itself to public criticism, credibility issues and even legal problems. In order for land conservation to maintain public credibility, it is essential that all land trusts carefully screen projects for the public benefit that will be provided. Once projects are selected, the land trust must determine how best to protect a given property’s resources. For each property, sufficient information must be gathered to make sound judgments and avoid unacceptable risks.
Relevant Law
- Land Title Act, RSBC 1996, c. 250, s. 219:
- Receiver General – to hold Covenants in BC:
- Income Tax Act, SC 1985, c. I, s. 149.1 (6.3);
see also Canada Revenue Agency policy interpretations at
- Environmental Management Act, SBC 2003, c. 53, s. 40
- Contaminated Sites Regulation, BC Reg. 375/96, as am., s. 3.
- Canada Revenue Agency policy interpretation of Income Tax Act, SC 1985, c. I;
see Income Tax Technical News No. 26 at:
PRACTICE
F. Project Planning
All land and conservation agreements are individually planned so that the property's important conservation values are identified protected and restored if necessary. The project furthers the land trust’s mission and goals, and the project reflects the capacity of the organization to meet future stewardship obligations.
Background
This practice calls for each project to be tailored to the specifics of the property through some form of project planning. The process may take the form of an actual project plan, a completed project planning data sheet, or may be reflected in the correspondence, maps or other documents related to the project. The formal or informal project plan becomes the guide for the next steps in the protection process. The planning documentation becomes particularly important when there is more than one person working on the project. The project plan or data sheets prepared by the land trust representative evaluating the property, for instance, can be essential for the lawyer drafting the conservation agreement. Initial project planning should evaluate the conservation values and protection strategies against the land trust’s mission and capacity. Project planning should also include the identification of the conservation values and the potential threats that could significantly impair those values (threats may vary by geographic region and land trust mission). In addition, project plans should evaluate the land trust’s and landowner’s goals for the project, and then devise protection strategies accordingly.
Assessment Questions
CLTA Assessment Questions
- Does the land trust have and follow a written process to guide the planning of each project?
- If yes, the process (check all that apply):
- Identifies the property boundaries
- Identifies important conservation values
- Identifies how the project meets the mission of the land trust and its selection criteria
- Evaluates the threats to the conservation values
- Clarifies landowner and land trust goals for the project
- Selects the most important conservation strategy for the property
- Evaluates the land trust’s capacity to undertake the project, and to fulfill any long-term stewardship responsibilities
- If yes, the process (check all that apply):
