Q. In most organizations, stewardship means fund-raising. Not so in this case?

CS: Right! Our responsibility is to the land that the Conservancy protects through conservation easements, the real nitty-gritty of the Conservancy. Each easement includes restrictions on use, restrictions that vary according to the desires of the owner who donated the easement and a list of permitted activities.   We are the enforcement arm of the Conservancy.  We visit each property once or twice a year to make sure that everything is the way it's supposed to be according to the terms of the easement. We try to find a time that is convenient for the owner so that we can walk the property together.  Usually the inspections are a chance for us to get better acquainted with the land and communicate with the owner.  Usually, there are no enforcement problems. 

Q: How do you know when the land owner is in compliance with the terms of the easement?

CS: As soon as an easement is completed, we begin to prepare a series of baseline documents describing the condition of the property when the easement was created, including maps, photos, etc.  We've developed several concise forms that enable us to know what to look for when we are "in the field."  As the number of easements grows, it becomes more and more important to have an organized filing system, completed baselines and set procedures for making inspections.

Q: What happens if you discover a violation?

CS: Sometimes owners, even the original owners who donated the easement,  may not realize that they are doing something that is a violation of the easement.  For example, they may have mowed in an area where the land is supposed to remain in a natural state.  In that case, we remind them of the restriction and then make sure that the problem has been corrected. A more difficult situation can arise when the protected land is owned by a local government and the neighbors encroach on the easement by mowing, dumping, or even erecting outbuildings beyond their property line.  Then we have to work with the local officials to correct the situation. Legal action is our final resort. We have never had to sue an owner, and hope we don't, but our prime responsibility is to uphold the integrity of the easement.   That's why it's so important to have dedicated land trust staff and volunteers whose major concern is to monitor and uphold the terms of our conservation easements.

Q: What challenges does the committee face at the moment?

CS: Now that we are no longer operating as an all volunteer organization, we have a little more time to finish baselines, organize files and establish specific procedures for monitoring our easements.  We have reorganized our stewardship committee recently and put our stewardship volunteers in charge of specific easements.  We are ordering new decals to replace our old Medina County logo with our new Medina Summit identification. We still need to install MSLC signs at some of our new easements.  There's a lot to do and we can use all the help we can get. 

We have some data about the flora and fauna of some of our easements and hope to gather more natural resource data in the future.  Property owners like to know about the native plants and animals that they have protected.  In addition, these natural resource inventories can be a powerful tool to show not only what we have preserved, but what is being lost where no protection is available.

Q: What advice do you have for current or potential easement holders?

CS Just enjoy your property and protect it if you haven't already.  Call us if you have any concerns or questions.  (Chris Bunch at the MSLC office or Cynthia Szunyog 722-5020.)