Setting Priorities for Land Conservation (1993) / Chapter Skim
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7 Techniques and Tools of Acquisition
7 Techniques and Tools of Acquisition
Pages 157-182
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From page 160... ...
Among the problems resulting in ineffective or failed conservation easements are · Complexity of initial drafting and excessive ambiguity; · Rigidity of easement provisions that fad! to tailor easement to property characteristics and account for reasonable retained uses; · Failure to monitor easement regularly and thoroughly; failure to plan for costs of monitoring; · Failure to establish ongoing relationships wig owners of encumbered properly, including new owners; · Inappropriate use of easements (e.g., when significant public access and management is desirable3; · Failure to enforce terms of easements that can reinforce patterns of paucity, · Viewing the landowner-agency relationship as adversarial.
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From page 162... ...
depend on many variables, including creating evasion-proof trading schemes, establishing rights that have economic value, and allowing transfers with minimal transaction costs Ripe and Dudek, 1989~. Under Hose criteria, emissions trading plans designed to reduce air pollution in Los Angeles and a pollution rights trading scheme to reduce pollution in the Fox River, Wisconsin, are failures.
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From page 163... ...
Concern for Me vast territory covered by the critical habitat for the northern spotted owl shows that future management obligations might obviate classical distinctions between private and public ownership arid that full-fee acquisition by Me government of all interests necessary to achieve conservation goals is implausible.
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From page 164... ...
. That statute declares that, in managing the public lands, the relevant secretary "shall, by regulation or otherwise, take any action necessary to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation of Me lands." Although "legislative servitudes" of this sort leave much to the imagination and to Me engines of future policy choice, they have the potential to redefine traditional public and private property domains.
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From page 165... ...
The Forest Legacy Program is an experiment in institutional land conservation now under way. The Fifth Amendment to Me U.S.
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From page 166... ...
As Sax (1991) points out, the public already owns the national forests: "The issues there are not proprietorship or compensation, but how to allocate the land between such competing demands as timber production, hydrocarbon or geothermal development, and wilderness and wildlife." LAND EXCHANGE Land exchange between private parties or nonfederal public agencies and the USES or BEM is an established means of improving land ownership patterns and administrative efficiency and achieving federal landmanagement objectives.
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From page 167... ...
An example of Me importance of land exchange to BEM is illustrated by the exchanges completed in one state alone Arizona during fiscal years 1983-1991. In a series of land exchanges with the state and several private parties, BEM acquired 1,554, 198 acres of state and private lands and conveyed 1,073,000 acres to nonfederal parties.
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From page 168... ...
Land exchange between nonfederal landowners and the federal agencies is an alternative to acquiring nonfederal lands wig appropriated fimds but sometimes is difficult to accomplish, as described below. Effects on USES and BUM Timber Sales l A fundamental requirement of Be laws and regulations under which Be federal agencies are authorized to exchange lands is that lands being acquired must be of equal value with the lands being removed from federal ownership; differences in value in any single exchange can be equalized wig a cash payment in an amount that does not exceed 25% of the total transaction value.
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From page 169... ...
in 1970, which nevertheless recommended Mat "all federally owned lands overwise available for disposal should be subject to exchange, regardless of agency jurisdiction and geographic limitation." The PLLRC encouraged the agencies to emphasize improved planning, public information practices, and public participation to gain support for large-scale exchange programs that cross state lines, such as was accomplished when public lands In Nevada were exchanged to acquire lands in California for the Point Reyes National Seashore (PLLRC, 1970~. Congress must approve any exchange of federal land that crosses state lines; therefore, rarely does any single land exchange wig the federal government involve more than one state.
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From page 170... ...
Limits Imposed by National Forest Boundaries With some specific exceptions, the laws that govern national forest land exchanges generally require that nonfederal lands being acquirM by USPS be located widen He statutory boundary of a national forest. Because only Congress can change a national forest boundary, any land exchange that involves nonfederal land outside of an existing national forest boundary requires case-by-case approval from Congress.
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From page 171... ...
When owned by the federal government, the mineral estate is the responsibility of BEM. Therefore, when federal lands and minerals are disposed of to a nonfederal landowner, BEM must concur in the disposition of the mineral rights, even when the surface acreage is national forest land.
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From page 172... ...
Notable exceptions are the plans for the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri and Me Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington, for which detailed information is presented to inform the public about land exchange opportunities (USFS, 1986, 199Oa)
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From page 173... ...
lands, including selected national forest, public domain, or other lands administered by BEM, on a value-forvalue basis that reflects the value of the nonfederal land in its current use, regardless of the critical habitat designation. The equal value or comparable value standard for land exchanges poses questions of whether the value of the land should be judged before, during, or after the imposition of regulatory restrictions.
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From page 174... ...
Moreover, land acquisition endeavors for certain conservation purposes, such as habitat or environmental protection, might not be as dependent upon complete removal of all incompatible uses, the way a highway condemnation undertaking might be. The Lake Tahoe experience is illustrative once again, because the water-quality goals were achieved by selective and partial acquisitions from willing sellers (Fink, 1991~.
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From page 175... ...
Although federal agencies must pay Be fair market value of land, a nonprofit organization can purchase property at auction, solicit full or partial donations of property, or o~envise obtain the property at a bargain rate. Nonprofit organizations also might have an advantage in dealing with landowners who are suspicious of agency appraisals, are tired of dealing with bureaucracies, or desire to use an intermediary in dealing with an agency.
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From page 176... ...
Nonprofit organizations also can hold land for sale to an agency in increments over several years as funds become available; federal agencies cannot enter into installment purchases unless the funding has been appropriated first. Agencies can purchase options to buy property for a maximum of ~ year and $l, but nonprofit organizations can purchase options at a price that will interest a seller.
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From page 177... ...
The project encouraged multiple agency cooperation in the acquisition and management of large land holdings encompassing a variety of resources. USES wanted to acquire portions of land in the Hope Valley area to improve recreational opportunities within the Toiyabe National Forest, improve habitat for several endangered species, and facilitate management.
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From page 178... ...
The Carrizo Plain offers prime habitat for most of the endangered species in Me San loaquin Valley (the southern portion of Me Central Valley) , including sandhill cranes, the San loaquin kit fox, the blunt-nosed leopard lizard, the San loaquin antelope squirrel, and the giant kangaroo rat.
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From page 179... ...
CONCLUSION In many aspects, He work of nonprofit organizations has been the most significant development in recent federal land acquisition practices. Those groups do extraordinary and useful work as entrepreneurs, inno
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From page 180... ...
Critics of the nonprofit organizations claim Hat the lands bought on behalf of the government reflect private priorities rather Pan public priorities, and that Be transactions are lobbied Trough Congress. It is also said that acquisition intermediaries can buy lands at a discount and Bus earn undeserved profits when Hey sell the land at fair market value to public entities.
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From page 181... ...
Finally, the partnerships between nonprofit organizations and government entities are important for protecting areas large enough to meet the requirements of wildlife species.
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