Landowner and land trust agent preferences for conservation easements: Implications for sustainable land uses and landscapes: Fid-Bau Portal

Landowner and land trust agent preferences for conservation easements: Implications for sustainable land uses and landscapes

Bastian, Christopher T. / Keske, Catherine M.H. / McLeod, Donald M. / Hoag, Dana L.

Abstract

Highlights•Conservation easements protect agricultural landscapes through private agreements.•This study evaluates both landowner and land trust preferences.•Conservation on private land requires landowner and land trust cooperation.•Managerial control, public access, trust, and financial compensation are relevant.•Reducing search and transaction costs increases efficiency and transactions.

AbstractConservation easements offer sustainable land use and environmental conservation through land use restrictions. Opportunities exist to improve the efficiency by which parties interested in conservation easement transactions are matched, which may contribute to the overall protection of agricultural landscapes. This study utilizes stated choice questions to elicit preferences for conservation easements by both landowners, as potential easement suppliers, and land trust professionals as potential easement demanders. A random utility model is estimated for landowners and for land trust professionals. Results indicate both preference overlap and preference divergence between these two sets of respondents. Significant opportunities exist to reduce search and transactions costs, improve easement acceptance, and increase environmental protection via increased transaction frequency of conservation easements in this emerging market. When negotiating with landowners, land trusts need to be aware of concerns related to issues such as managerial control, public access, lack of trust, and financial compensation. Moreover, heterogeneity amongst participants regarding these issues suggests some agricultural landowners may be more or less concerned about these issues.