TNC Easement Study Questionnaire
Recorded on Data Sheet I
Annotated Survey Form
Original SurveyandSupplementquestions are integrated
Notations in purple show columns and coding of the Data
Every effort has been made to make this data set as complete and transparent as possible. Original Survey questions that were replaced by new or elaborated questions in the Supplement are retained here, but shown in grey.For strategic reasons and to protect the confidentiality of landowners, partners,and TNC business information, answers to a few questions are not included in the data set. Where this is the case it is indicated below. In a few instances, rather than omit the data, generalized versions of place names or taxa have been substituted.
DATA SHEET I
AIndividual Easement Survey:
B -Easement Reference Numberfor this survey
I.Easement Overview
C1.1Easement name:(omitted for confidentiality)
D1.2 MABR IFMS Code (from CLS – on Terra’s list)
(omitted for confidentiality)
E1.3Date easement established, (recording or TNC transaction date):
F1.4Acreage:
G1.5Which of the following applies:
1Donation
3Purchase
2Partial Donation/Partial Purchase
4 Other
HCost (if purchase or partial donation) $ (omitted for confidentiality)
I1.6 Is this easement TNC’s first engagement with this property?
1 Yes
2 No
J(Answer to question above coded again for ease of tabulation with following items)
-1 Yes
0 No
If “No” how did TNC come to hold an easement here? (mark all that apply)
K TNC owned fee for a while but later conveyed it out, retaining an easement. Indicate year first acquired, if possible:
L TNC purchased fee, intending to sell to a conservation buyer, but keep an easement.
M TNC had other engagement there prior to easement (e.g. management agreement, lease, registry). Indicate year of 1st engagement, if possible
N Other
1.7 Landowner Type
Coded as 0 for no and 1 for yes in its respective column.
Also coded by number indicated - in T (and U if applicable) for ease of roll up.
O Private Individual/family(#1 incolumns T and U)
P Private Corporation(#2 incolumns T and U)
Q Non-profit organization, (#3 incolumns T and U)
(e.g. land trust, foundation, educational group) Specify
R Federally Recognized Indian Tribe(#4 incolumns T and U)
S Public Entity(#5 incolumns T and U)
VIndicate type:
-1 not apply
1 Local (specify)
2 State
3 Federal
WPlease list any partners working with you on this easement, and their role:
1.8 Owner History(mark one)
X 1st generation owner with previous knowledge of the property–
Current owner’s tenure precedes the existence of the easement. (Either owned the land from which the easement was purchased or owned adjacent or very nearby property and acquired that land as the first owner subject to the easement.)
Y 1stgeneration owner without previous knowledge if the property–
Current owner did not have pre-easement knowledge of the land as resident or near neighbor. Generally acquired the land from TNC subject to our easement.
Z 2ndgeneration family member owner of land subject to easement –
Current owner acquired the land already subject to the easement - by inheritance or otherwise through his/her immediate family.
AA 2nd generation unrelated owner of land subject to the easement -
Current owner acquired theland already subject to the easement by purchase or other wise from an unrelated party.
AB Other – please explain
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TNC Easement Study – annotated to reference coding of data in spread sheets
TNC Easement Study Questionnaire
Recorded on Data Sheet II
DATA SHEET II
(New content begins with column G below)
II.Conservation Context
2.1Ecological Context:
- GHabitat Type (WWF biomes):(name)
Please refer to the state biome map sent to you by Terra.
H (code for type below)
1Temperate grasslands, savannas, shrublands
2 Mediterranean forests, woodlands, scrub
3 Temperate coniferous forests
4 Tropical grasslands, savannas, shrubland
5 Mediterranean forests, woodlands, scrub
6Temperate broadleaf mixed forests
7 Tropical grasslands, savannas, shrublands
8 Deserts xeric shrublands
9 Montane grasslands shrublands
- IEcoregion:(Ecoregions are included in the data.
Refer back to column A for the state in which they are located.)
J2.2Does this easement exist in a portfolio site?*
1 Yes
0 No
- KName of portfolio site:(omitted for confidentiality)
- LWas it acquired before portfolio sites were identified?
1 Yes acquired before
0 No acquired after portfolio sites identified
* The Nature Conservancy uses the term “portfolio site” to describe one of the "selected set of places" which make up anecoregionalportfolio. The end product of ecoregional planning, this “portfolio” is a designed to represent the full distribution and diversity of native species, natural communities and ecosystems in an ecoregion.
2.3 How does this easement fit within your program’s conservation priorities and planning process ?The questions below are intended to get at howthiseasement fits within the many priorities of your state program:
- MIs there a Conservation Area Plan for the area in which easement exists?
1 Yes
0 No
- NIf there is a Conservation Area Plan, what is the total acreage of that area? (omitted for confidentiality)
- OHow many acres of that Conservation Area does TNC plan to protect in fee and easement?(omitted for confidentiality)
- PIs there a TNC Field representative working in area?
1 Yes
0 No
- QAre any partners also working on this Conservation Area.
1 Yes
0 No
Partners coded as:
R-Fed agencies
S-State agencies
T-County/City agencies
U-LocalLand Trusts
V-Other orgs, funds
W-University
X-Private Corp/or Individual(s)
2.3 s1 Do you have any type of conservation plan the places this easement into a landscape context?
Yes – coded as Y or Z depending on type, as shown below
No - coded as AA along with “Don’t Know” - as shown below
Don’t know – coded as AA along with “No” - as shown below
Check all those that apply
Y 5-S
Z Other type (please describe)
AA No, or don’t know
AB2.3 s2 Do you have staff paying attention to this property beyond annual monitoring activities? Please describe
1 Yes
2 No
0 Don’t know
2.3To what extent does the easement complement or enhance other protected areas in the region?Manyeasements add value outside of their borders, because of neighboring protected areas or other easements. The questions below are intended to identify those cases.
- AC Does the easement share a border with any other protected areas, (local parks, other TNC holdings, etc.)?
1 Yes
0 No
ADIf yes, Explain What protected areas?
- AEIf not physically contiguous with the easement, are there other protected lands in the immediate area?
0-n/a; no
1-within 1 mile
2-within 2 miles
3-within 5 miles
AF If yes, Explain What protected areas?
2.4AGIndicate which of the following contributed to the decision to use an easement as the protection tool at this site. Mark as many as apply.
Owner unwilling to sell full fee interest
Easement more acceptable to the community than full fee purchase
Only enough money to purchase easement
Easement was donated
Other
NOTE that respondents felt that the options presented in the version of this question abovewere inadequate to reflect the factors contributing to the decision to use an easement. While their initial responses are included in the spreadsheet, we worked from their responses to the elaborated question in the Supplement, which follows.
2.5 s1 Indicate which of the following contributed to the decision to use an easement as the protection tool at this site. This is a revision of question 2.5, (“why use conservation easement as a tool”) in the original survey. The point of elaborating this question is to better understand the many reasons for which we use easements. Please mark all items below that apply. (They are broken up into categories to help you think about this from different perspectives.)(coded with numbers below)
Landowner desire
AH#1Owner unwilling to sell full fee interest
AI #2Owner wished to secure the conservation future of his/her land
Financial issues
AJ#3Easement cost-effective at less than full fee and sufficient to accomplish goals
AK#4TNC could not afford to buy full fee, but could afford easement
AL #5Easement was donated
Community/Strategy
AM#6Easement more acceptable to community than full fee (e.g. keeps land on tax rolls).
AN#7TNC wanted to keep land in private ownership because private land use could be maintained, yet conservation goals could be accomplished, (e.g. preventing some resource-impacting activities and/or future conversion to more intensive land use).
Other
AO#8TNC transferred out fee interest in property but retained easement
AP#9Mitigation (protection accomplished by this easement serves as mitigation, regulatory or other value related to resource impacts elsewhere).
AQ#10Other. Please explain
2.5s2 Decision to use easement as tool at this sitegrouped by category
AR1-Landowner Desire (1,2 above)
AS2-Financial Issues (3,4,5 above)
AT3-Community/Strategy (6,7 above)
AU 4-Other (8,9,10 above)
2.5AVWhich of the following describes themost intensivehuman activitywithin a 10 mileradius of this easement (check one):
#1 Wilderness (little human activity)
#2 Rural, but minimal land use
#3 Rural, but withcommercial timber, grazing, farms and/or agriculture
#4 Rural residential(scattered residences, ranchettes and/or trophy homes)
#5 Residential subdivision (with or without retail or services)
#6 Industrial
AW2.6 s1 Which of the following describes thepredominant land use(covers the greatest area) within a twenty-mile-wide circle centered on this easement – (that is the10 mile radius noted above). Check one:
#1 Wilderness (little human activity)
#2 Rural, but minimal land use
#3 Rural, but with commercial timber, grazing, farms and/or agriculture
#4 Rural residential (scattered residences, ranchettes and/or trophy homes)
#5 Residential subdivision (with or without retail or services)
#6 Industrial
2.6Are there existing structures on the property?Respond to the questions below andadd comments where desired.
- AXIs there a structurethat serves as the owner’s primary or secondary residence?
0 No residences
1 Primary
2 Secondary
3 Don’t know
- AYDoes the property have one or more residences occupied by employees of the owners?
0 No employee residences
1 Yes
2 Don’t know
- AZDo the terms of the easement permit the construction of additional residences?
1 Yes
0 No
- BADo the terms of the easement permit the construction of new structure(s)whose purpose is not as a residence?
1 Yes
0 No
This question was replaced and elaborated in the Supplement with the more specific questions which follow:
BB 2.7 s1 Can the easement property be divided, (or subdivided)? That is, can the property be sold in two or more pieces – (regardless of whether these divisions were or were not in place at the time the easement was established).
1 Yes – or subdivision not addressed in easement
2 No – subdivision prohibited by easement
Easements which were silent on the subject of subdivision were coded “Yes” as permitting it. (The only exception is easement CA 10, which is explained with a comment.) However, it should be noted that, particularly with older easements, the drafting strategy for preventing new development was, instead, to prohibit or severely limit new structures. On lands where no or few new structures could be built there was reduced financial incentive to divide the property.
BC how many subdivisions are allowed?
- 1 Not specified in the document
1 One,
2 Two,
3 Three, etc.
For each division permitted, please provide the size of the divisions (in acres) and the size of any building envelopes that are defined by the easement:
1. BDacres, with BEsquare foot building envelope
Notes:
-Same fields above repeated for each permitted division -
2. acres, with square foot building envelope Notes:
3. acres, with square foot building envelope Notes:
Add additional divisions and their building envelopes, or other notes below:
BF2.7 s2 Does the easement permit construction of new structures?
- 1 Not specified in the document
1 Yes
2 No
BGNumber allowed:
- 1 Not specified in the document
1 One,
2 Two,
3 Three, etc.
BHnote the building envelope in acres provided for each structure:
- 1 Not specified
xx specific number of acres if specified.
Please note the type of each new structure allowed, and the square footagepermitted for each, if defined in the easement:
-Same fields below repeated for each permitted structure -
- BIType: BJStructure size (e.g. sq.ft) permitted
- Type: Structure size (e.g. sq.ft) permitted
- Type: Structure size (e.g. sq.ft) permitted
Add additional structures and their sizes, or other notes below:
- process continues through BR–
In retrospect, the structure of the survey did not make it easy to tabulate or sort some information. (For example, where structures exceed the three spaces provided, respondents simply listed them in one or more of the spaces provided, or as with easements TX85, TX89 and TX90 added a comment in column BF.)
Some other information, particularly relative to cumulative portion of the easement which fell into building envelope(s), could not be extracted from the response we collected. (For example, if there are two building envelopes listed of 5 acres each, was that a total of 5 acres for structures or a total of 10 acres?) For this reason, we went back to the easement documents to specifically tabulate clarify this question as noted on page 9 with new question CD.
2.8Are there any commercial use(s) of the property?
- If yes, which of the following describe the commercial use of the property associated with the easement:Check as many as apply.
BS#1Farm – field crops or orchard
BT#2Vineyard
BU#3Ranch– grazing (inc. dairy & mowing for hay)
BV#4Forestry
BW#5Hostelry (e.g. dude ranch, B&B, camp ground)
BX#6Recreation(incl. private hunt club, or fishing club/guiding)
BY#7Other:
2.9Are there anypublic and/or educational uses of the property? Please check the current human uses on the property (actual activities, regardless of whether they are identified as purposes in the easement terms):
BZ#1 Public Recreation (if commercial,also include in 2.7 above)
CA#2 Other Public Access
CB#3 Education/Research
CC#4 Other:
CD Total acres of building envelope(new field added)
size In acres
0 No new buildings allowed (a non-building structure may be allowed).
-1 No building envelope specified for allowed buildings
It should be noted that any acreage restriction on new buildings was characterized as a “building envelope” for the purposes of this study. Easements on some ranches restricted ranching-related structures to a “Base of Operations Zone” of a specified number of acres. These were included in the total, along with small building footprints more typically characterized as “building envelopes”.
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TNC Easement Study – annotated to reference coding of data in spread sheets
TNC Easement Study Questionnaire
Recorded on Data Sheet III
DATA SHEET III
(New content begins with column G below)
III. Easement Purposes
G 3.1 Whatis/are the stated purpose(s) of the easement, as writtenin the recorded
easement document?
Coded as noted below in Spreadsheet III,columns H - AJ.
code / Easement purposes (This coding used for questions 3.1,3.2 and 3.6)#1 / retain property/habitat undisturbed in natural state/condition
#2 / prohibit certain further development activities, fragmentation
#3 / protect endangered species
#4 / protect marine/aquatic habitat or communities (e.g. shoreline, wetlands)
#5 / protect habitat for migration routes
#6 / protect unique features (e.g. cliff, geothermal,etc)
#7 / buffer for habitat or feature
#8 / contribute to viability/connectivity of surrounding protected areas
#9 / protection of larger landscape through conservation easements
#10 / manage in accordance with a conservation plan or agreement
#11 / restoration activities
#12 / satisfy mitigation components
#13 / protection of historic value (e.g. land uses, structures)
#14 / compatible grazing, heritage ranching
#15 / species re-introduction site
#16 / natural water and nutrient retention, with rights to flood, flow and store water upon property
#17 / accommodation of educational and/or scientific activities/facilities
#18 / public benefit: access, services, and/or scenic enjoyment
#19 / demonstrating easements as effective conservation tool for area (e.g. forest conservation, ranch stewardship)
#20 / priority acquisition for TNC or other partners
#21 / donor cultivation
#22 / landowner/community relations
#23 / partner relations
#24 / board member relations
#25 / owner preferred TNC over other partners (e.g. government, land trust)
#26 / easement acquisition required (e.g. by grant, lawsuit)
#27 / sold through/involved in conservation buyer program
#28 / prevent uses that would impair, degrade or interfere with conservation values
#29 / any commercial use
AK-BM3.2 If additional easement purposes are noted in the project package, and that information is available,list themhere: (coded as noted in Question 3.1 above)
3.3 Rank the contributions of this easement in support of target viability:
List the easement’s top targets below, (up to five). (Note that some easements may contribute to the viability of targets that are off-site or on adjacent or nearby lands.)
Indicate the easement’s most important contribution to target viabilitywith:“1” most important contribution. (If also serves another purpose for that target mark it with “2” secondary but important contribution.)
BNTarget#1
BOCore property with targets on site
1 most important
2 secondary but important contribution
0 n/a
BPBuffer