Conservation Easement Workshop set for Libby on Friday, March 26
Montana Association of Land Trusts and Forest Stewardship Foundation
March 23, 2010
The Montana Forest Stewardship Foundation and the Montana Association of Land Trusts are teaming up to bring "A Forest Owner’s Introduction to Conservation Easements" workshop to Libby on Friday, March 26.
The workshop will run 2:00 – 5:00 PM in the Ponderosa Room of Libby City Hall, located at 952 E. Spruce. There is no cost to attend the workshop.
"The purpose of the workshop is for landowners to have an opportunity to hear directly from folks who deal with conservation easements on an everyday basis," said Ed Levert, a forest landowner and a member of the Montana Forest Stewardship Foundation. Levert, a former US Forest Service district ranger, is currently the Lincoln County Forester. "For a landowner, the decision to place a conservation easement on your property is a major decision, and this workshop should help provide landowners with the type of information they need."
Speakers for the workshop include Charlie Decker of Libby, a longtime logger in northwest Montana. Decker is also a former Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commissioner and a founding member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Decker will discuss his experiences with conservation easements from his perspective as a logger and through his work at FWP and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
Glenn Marx, executive director of the Montana Association of Land Trusts, will also provide a presentation about conservation easements, land trusts, and private land conservation in Montana.
Levert will also moderate a panel of speakers that includes: Gary Ellingson, a forestry consultant with Northwest Management; Mark Schiltz, western area director the Montana Land Reliance and a landowner with a conservation easement on his property; Alan Wood, wildlife mitigation coordinator with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks; and Kirk Sullivan, a district conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The panelists will cover a broad spectrum of land conservation and forest management topics. There will be opportunity for audience members to ask questions of the speakers and the panelists.
"There’s a lot of myth and misunderstanding surrounding conservation easements," said Marx. "One goal of the workshop is to show how active forest management and conservation easements are compatible. We want to provide a basic level of understanding so landowners will have a working knowledge about conservation easements as well as documents and sources to obtain additional information."
A conservation easement is a use of a private property right to create a voluntary, negotiated and permanent agreement between a landowner and a land trust (or public agency) that limits development and maintains open lands.
The workshop is open to northwest Montana residents who would like to obtain more knowledge about conservation easements and forest management. For additional information contact Levert at 406-293-2847 or Marx at 406-490-1659.
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