Land Stewardship
Conserving the land is just the first step.
When an individual landowner or a town puts a Conservation Restriction (CR) on their land, they continue to own it and can continue to use it for recreation, forestry, or private enjoyment. However, the CR puts some limits on how that land can be used. Kestrel holds the CR, which means we are legally responsible for ensuring the terms in that agreement are upheld – forever.
Here’s how we do that:
Protecting the Land Forever
Get the lay of the land
We document the land’s conservation values and natural resources in a baseline report
Make regular visits
We conduct annual monitoring visits to look for changes, or improper uses of the land, and we document what we find.
Stay in touch
We communicate and collaborate with the individuals or towns that own the conservation lands. We respond to landowner concerns and requests for approval, amendments and reserved rights.
Resolve problems
We work with landowners to enforce and resolve any violations of the terms of the legal conservation document.
You Can Help!
Our Stewardship team is responsible for visiting and monitoring hundreds of acres of conserved lands around the Valley every year, and volunteers are essential to this task. They receive training on how to navigate the land, make observations based on the terms of the CR, and report accurately for our permanent records.
