Model Conservation Easement Training Series
Where
Connecticut Forest & Park AssociationRockfall, CT 06481
Contact
Amy B. Paterson, Executive DirectorCT Land Conservation Council
860-685-0785
abpaterson@ctconservation.org
Session 3: Monitoring, Encroachments & Lessons Learned from the Lyme Land Conservation Trust v. Platner case and Other Decisions
As they say, hindsight is 20:20!
Forty or fifty years from today, how will your land trust's board of directors view your success in planning and drafting easements? Will they applaud you for saving land - or decry the easement's lack of clarity or complexity as violation-prone and costly to monitor and enforce?
Drawing on a depth of professional experience, the presenters -- all Connecticut attorneys -- will use recent case examples and other real world stories to illustrate best practices, and potential pitfalls, in easement drafting, stewardship, monitoring, landowner relations and enforcement. Bring your own stories/solutions and questions for this unique opportunity to discuss issues and challenges faced by your land trust and get to "ask the experts" about easement monitoring and enforcement.
About the Presenters
Keith Ainsworth, Esq., currently Chair of the CBA Environmental Law Section and a partner at Evans, Fedlman & Ainsworth, LLC in New Haven, has been practicing environmental law for 25 years. He has advised and litigated on matters ranging from land use, permitting, CERCLA, lead paint liability, telecommunications and utility facility siting, coastal development, environmental justice, common law environmental torts and insurance coverage. Mr. Ainsworth, a life member of the Madison Land Conservation Trust, also often represents individuals, land trusts, businesses and organizations asserting claims to protect and conserve natural resources and has successfully prosecuted encroachments on land trust land.
Linda Francois is a partner in the New Haven general practicelaw firm of Cooper, Whitney, Cochran & Francois, where she has represented landowners, land trusts and municipalities in land protection transactions, conservation restriction (easement) donations, bargain sales and purchases, and open space initiatives throughout Connecticut for 20 years. Attorney Francois is also a director and president of the Bethany Land Trust.
Gary W. Hawes is an Assistant Attorney General, State of Connecticut, Office of the Attorney General.
John Pritchard is the President of the Lyme Land Conservation Trust and a retired senior partner in the Litigation practice of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.in New York.
Bring your questions and war stories! (And bring your land trust's attorney too!) This workshop is designed to engage participants in what is certain to be an interesting discussion about if and when easements might be amended.
About the CLCC Model Conservation Easement Project
Launched in 2014, the goal of the CLCC Model Conservation Easement (CE ) Project is to strengthen the quality and viability of conserved lands in Connecticut by: (1) creating a statewide model conservation easement template for use by the land conservation community; and (2) improving the knowledge, skills and abilities of the drafters and users of conservation easements through a comprehensive training program.The 2014 Model is meant to be a starting point from which to build future model documents. Input received from the land conservation community in 2015 will help us to improve upon the next edition of the model planned for 2016.
CLCC's Model CE Working Group is comprised of attorneys and other conservation practitioners from around the state who got together to research and draft a conservation easement template, with a goal of simplifying language as much as reasonably possible and permitting adaptation to a broad array of situations.
CLCC's Model CE Project and 2015 training & education program are made possible in part through the generosity of the Geoffrey C. Hughes Foundation.
Cost:
CLCC Members: Free
Non-CLCC Members: $25
Coffee and light breakfast snacks will be provided.
Intermediate/Advanced (but all levels are welcome).