White Paper: Option for Land Protection Component

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Land Entity White Paper November 30, 1999 easements or acquisition in fee will achieve permanent land protectian. Local landowner interests urge acquiring interests in land other than full fee interests, so that locai land uses can be retained, at least in part. Titis seems to be viewed as less disruptive to the community, and can reduce the cost per acre protected or the cost efficiency of the funds expended can increase. On the other hand, some of the other Program participants are interested in the certainty of fee ownership, both for the lortg-term protection values and for purposes of recovering equity if the Program is discontinued. Flexthility in Acquisition Strategies -- Acquisition strategie5 are a poiicy and implementation matter beyond merely identifying a Land Entity, though they may shape how a Land entity is empowered and structured. Some landowners have concerns with the concept of "perpetual" environmental protection, and prefer more temparary and short-term agreements -- at least at the beginning -- ta evaluate program fairness {"walk before you run"}. Other participants have cautianed that too many short-term deals could lead ta a Program without a land camponent uniess, as leases expire, altemative habitat Iands are fvund and readied to replace the leased iands leaving the Program. Concems have also been raised that, under a short-term lease scenario, money expended restoring leased lands would be lost if the land leaves the Program. If, as seems likely, a strategy af gradually building sapport for longer term techniques by implementing sharter term measures ("building towards perpetuity"), and/or a menu of flexihle and creative acquisitions is desired or needed, success may be enhanced by designing these strategies into the charter ar artic}es af incorporation of the deal-making entity. If flexible transactions are desired, the deal-making and land-managing entity or entities wiil aiso need to have or to develap a staff that understands the variety of land transactions that wiil likely be pursued, and how strategies may change over time. Potential Liability - Acquisition of }ands or interests in lands will create liabilities for holding entities. There is a need to understand liabilities of ownership, management and restoration of habitat lands_ Balance af Pawer {landowrter/stakehalder/local/state?federal) - Who makes decisions and how to accommodate dissent are extremely important issues. Local, community and landowner interests in Nebraska strongly desire a land protection program that is responsive to lacal concems. They want "iocal controi," which seems ta be defined as }acal landowners nat just offering advice and getting inforrnation, but having an active, affirmative ability to assure that lands are rrianaged in a way that will not harm neighbors. On the other hand, the state and federal entities which are funding land protection legally and practically need to retain enough contral ta ensure that funds are spent as intended, and have strang interests in assuring that a Land Entity is cost-efficient and achieves Pragram ohjectives. The governrnents' and stakeholders' views about who makes decisions for the Program and what discretion can exercised in implementing Program decisions will be factors that shape the organizational relationships agreed upon between a Land Entity or entities and the Gavernance Committee, and the malce up of the Land Entity's governing body, any land committees, and perhaps the Govemance Committee itself. 10