[NatureNS] Easements

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Thanks Lance,
    This may open a lead. I long for a process by which one can simply spel=
l out the terms in a deed as opposed to having a gaggle of Lawyers, Trustee=
s and Board members making a mess of things from afar.
DW
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Laviolette, Lance 
  To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca 
  Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2017 7:05 PM
  Subject: RE: [NatureNS] Easements


  Hi John,

   

  The answer is that in Nova Scotia and other Canadian Provinces that I=E2=
=80=99m familiar with, an easement is between the land owner and an eligibl=
e body. The =E2=80=98eligible body=E2=80=99 is the key phrase. In Nova Scot=
ia an eligible body is:

   

  =C2=B7         Her Majesty in right of the Province or any agency of Her =
Majesty in right of the Province;

  =C2=B7         Her Majesty in right of Canada or any agency of Her Majest=
y in right of Canada;

  =C2=B7         A municipality or any agency of a municipality;

  =C2=B7         Any of the thirteen Nova Scotia Mi=E2=80=99kmaw bands or a=
ny legal organization representing two or more of the bands;

  =C2=B7         Any organization that was, immediately before this Act com=
es into force, designated by the Governor in Council as a conservation orga=
nization under the former Act;

  =C2=B7         Any other organization designated pursuant to the regulati=
ons

   

  NSNT would be such a designated organization. A private citizen would not=
 be.

   

  My source is the Conservation Easements Act of the Province of Nova Scoti=
a.

   

  Cheers,

   

  Lance

   

  Lance Laviolette

  Glen Robertson, Ontario

   

   

   

   

  From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca=
] On Behalf Of John and Nhung
  Sent: July 26, 2017 12:45 PM
  To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
  Subject: EXTERNAL: [NatureNS] Easements

   

  Thanks for this, Caitlin.  It clarifies a lot.

   

  Some years back, a landowner with a plot of land in two adjacent municipa=
l units (one a town) willed us a chunk of her land.  For legal reasons, we =
were not able to assume ownership, but I remember advising her heirs that t=
hey could take out a conservation easement on the land in question.  Offere=
d to help further and never heard back, but I am sure the offspring honoure=
d their ma=E2=80=99s wishes to the best of their ability.

   

  My point (question?) is that if an owner wants to protect his or her land=
 and if NSNT or the Nature Conservancy of Canada doesn=E2=80=99t take it, t=
he owner can take steps to apply his or her own legal easements on the land=
 (can=E2=80=99t he/she??).

   

  From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca=
] On Behalf Of Caitlin Porter
  Sent: July 26, 2017 11:49 AM
  To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
  Subject: Re: [NatureNS] A Hopeful Perspective on NS Forestry

   

  Hi all, 

   

  One mechanism for protecting amazing forest parcels, eg. old growth fores=
t, on your property is through a private land conservation organization. Th=
ose groups sometimes have the ability to help landowners protect their prop=
erty through a conservation easement - that's a legal document that maintai=
ns conservation values on a property "in perpetuity".  

   

  Those charity groups who do this work have only a few staff on hand and l=
imited resources. Putting a conservation easement on a property and maintai=
ning that over time is a time consuming legal process that requires fairly =
substantial funding from the NGO to cover those legal fees, future monitori=
ng of the lands, etc. That means these groups only have the ability to take=
 on certain properties that they can get funding to take on. They usually h=
ave fairly strict criteria for being able to take on a property. Despite th=
at, I'd encourage anyone with something exceptional on their lands that the=
y'd like to see protected to contact an NGO such as the Nature Trust or the=
 Nature Conservancy of Canada and explore what options might be possible. J=
ust keep in mind that the funding might not be there and that the amazing f=
olks who work for those NGOs are working really hard behind the scenes and =
so it may take some time for them to respond to your calls or emails.

   

  Katie Porter 

   




   

   

  On Wed, Jul 26, 2017 at 9:47 AM, John Kearney <john.kearney@ns.sympatico.=
ca> wrote:

  Hi Dave and all,

  I agree that we need more alternatives for saving our patches of land for=
 future generations.

  A number of years ago, on one my birding field trips, I came upon a 95-ye=
ar old farmer working a small patch of land, surrounded by a mature Sugar M=
aple-Yellow Birch forest, in the high country of Pictou County with a beaut=
iful view of the valley below. In the course of our conversation he express=
ed cynacism about what his relatives would do with the land when he passed =
away, and he lamented the fact that he knew of no way to ensure the protect=
ion of his lifetime of work in caring for the land. Today that land is part=
 of an industrial-scale wind energy facility. It makes me wonder what Nova =
Scotia would be or could be like if all these patches were preserved. The c=
hoice is not between progress and a romantic clinging to the past as some m=
ight argue. Rather it is I believe, a choice between seeing the land as a c=
ommodity for our personal use and profit, or as a heritage, a work of art e=
ven, that we have a collective responsibility to care for and enhance durin=
g the time we dwell on the land.

  John

   

  From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca=
] On Behalf Of David
  Sent: July-25-17 13:20
  To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
  Cc: David Webster <dwebster@glinx.com>
  Subject: Re: [NatureNS] A Hopeful Perspective on NS Forestry

   

  Hi John & All,

      I suspect conservation, and nature worship, rank high in the minds of=
 most private woodlot owners. 

      I was fully disgusted with NS Nature Trust when they sniffed 'We don'=
t protect that kind of woodland', when I made inquiries about protecting my=
 woodlot permanently from residential/commercial development. 

      If you aim to protect 12% of an area then 78% is unprotected and what=
 good is a pail if 78% of the bottom is missing ?

      I never did read the second half of A Sand County Almanac, land ethic=
, because it was preachy and dry, but having read an old National Geographi=
c article about Leopold, I now realize he preached conservation as a way of=
 managing all landscapes. 

  Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville