Macomb, IL – Some western Illinois landowners are forming a group to insure that conservation easements are upheld.
Member Alice Henry says the Prairie Land Conservancy being formed will defend conservation easements in the courts.
She says as land with a conservation easement restricting its development passes through a succession of owners, some of them might want to develop the land when a more profitable use presents itself.
The conservancy is being formed under the auspices of Prairie Hills Resource Conservation and Development.
Director Dave King says seven members are doing the organizing. He says the conservancy will eventually be active in ten western Illinois counties.
It will be affiliated with state and national groups that share the goal of preserving natural land.
King says the conservation easements can apply to woodlands, prairies or wetlands .
Wildlife habitat can also be included.
Additional information:
Conservation easements are often used as part of federal programs that pay landowners for using certain conservation practices.
Not all conservation easements involve payments. Some are set up by landowners who want to preserve land from development for personal or family reasons.