Conservation Lands
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Most Counties and Municipalities don't have an explicit zoning for Conservation. Lands are enrolled in conservation through private or public Acquisition. Land Trusts are private entities that play a significnat role. Other lands are protected through Regulation often in the USA this happens under Critical Areas Regulation by Local Government as required by the Growth Management Act, however regulatory-based conservation can run afoul of Unconstitutional Regulatory Takings under the Washington State constitution. In some cases lands may be acquired ad protected for Mitigation. Land under private ownership can contain public resources, with implications under the Public Trust Doctrine. Management of Floodplains either for Agriculture, Wetlands or Flood Hazard Management can also restrict development, resulting in a kind of conservation. Some conservation actions are compelled under Tribal Treaty Rights In this way, Conservation Lands while seemingly simple, are a ambiguous mosaic of different interests and restrictions that define set-asides for both human and other-than-human needs.
Public Conservation Lands[edit]
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has public lands set aside for supporting wildlife populations and hunting and fishing opportunities.
- Washington State Department of Natural Resources manages State Owned Aquatic Lands (underwater land) as well as State Forest and Trust Lands along with a set of Natural Resource Conservation Areas
- Washington State Parks manage a set of properties set aside for recreation.
Private Conservation Lands[edit]
- Land Trusts are private not-for-profit corporations that acquire property rights to achieve public benefit, these are difficult to track, except through public contracts for acquisition (for example PRISM - RCO Project Information System) or through searching County-level parcel data.
- Deed restrictions like conservation easements are more difficult to identify, as property ownership remains in the hands of a private land owner.
- Mitigation commonly requires some protective instrument to assure services over time.
Regulatory Conservation[edit]
Regulatory systems create a de facto pattern of less developed lands designated to protect public trust resources.
Conservation Lands Topics[edit]
6 Topics in Conservation Lands
