Perceptions of Missouri Landowners With Land Trust Conservation Easements: Motivations, Challenges and Suggestions

Abstract

Conservation easements are a legal tool to preserve and manage private lands. Understanding the factors that influence private landowners to place their land under a conservation easement provides important information for policy-makers and land conservation professionals. Our study sought to identify the perceptions of first-generation conservation easement Missouri landowners. We conducted 16 semi-structured interviews in summer and fall of 2020. Our inductive thematic analysis revealed four major themes including landowner motivations and benefits, disincentives, process challenges, and participant suggestions. We found that landowners place their property under conservation easement because of the enjoyment and recreation opportunities that it provides, and they feel the land use restrictions associated with conservation easements are both a motivation and a disincentive. Our results can be used to inform conservation easement processes and policies, as well as improve efforts by land trusts to make the tool more accessible to landowners.