Ask questions, get answers

One of the easiest ways to find out about potential title issues is to just ask. When you are monitoring, ask the landowner if they plan on giving a deed to anybody for any reason. Even well-intentioned landowners may create issues by giving rights to children or spouses that conflict with the easement restrictions. Asking if the landowner plans on adjusting the land boundaries can help resolve title issues before any great harm arises.

We’re here to help! If you have any questions about questions for monitors or anything else, please let us know. You can email us directly or call 202-800-2219 for Lorri or 802-262-6051 for Leslie.

Survey Your Domain

When your land trust accepts an easement, it obtains a real estate interest in the easement under most state enabling acts. If you have a boundary disagreement with a neighbor to either fee land or easement land, you have the right to get a boundary survey. If you delay boundary surveys, it may be too late to address serious continuous encroachments as trespassers may gain rights over time. So get a boundary survey promptly to ensure that you identify potential legal disputes in the early stages when crafting a solution is relatively simple.

We’re here to help! If you have any questions about boundary surveys or anything else, please let us know. You can email us directly or call 202-800-2219 for Lorri or 802-262-6051 for Leslie.

Risk tips for a safe fun summer event

Public access to conservation land is not fun when people get hurt. If you plan to invite the public on your land this summer, be sure to consider risk management strategies to make the most of the event. You can avoid many safety issues by taking simple precautions when organizing recreational events.

Water safety- When organizing any events in or near water, be sure to provide adequate supervision and tell participants not to drink untreated water or get it in their mouths.
Food safety- When organizing events where you’ll be providing food, make sure those serving food take precautions to prevent food-borne illnesses.
Animal safety- Be sure to inform participants of any animals that may be dangerous and teach them ways to avoid them.
Plant safety- Be sure to inform participants of any plants that may cause allergic reactions and help them avoid these plants.
Bug bites- Bug bites can spread disease and allergic reactions. Make sure participants are aware of the risks and take any necessary precautions.
Emergency communications- Arrange for a way to communicate with emergency services if the need arises. Cell phones, satellite phones, and personal locator beacons are all possibilities to consider depending on your event. Or have the volunteer EMT or ambulance on standby if you are at an especially remote rugged location or holding a strenuous event.
Tour safety – Have at least two trained tour leaders if you have an organized group event; have more safety committee members at larger events to prevent tragedies and lesser accidents.

We’re here to help! If you have any questions about risk management at special events or anything else, please let us know. You can email us directly or call 202-800-2219 for Lorri or 802-262-6051 for Leslie.

2013 Year in Review

We’re proud of the successes of Terrafirma members, who together insured 6,764,772 acres this year. Terrafirma has handled 43 conservation defense liability insurance claims so far. All operations are within expectations. To learn more, read the 2013 annual report and 2013 audited financials and Form 990 available on the Terrafirma website financials page.

We’re here to help! If you have any questions about Terrafirma’s annual report, financial reports or anything else, please let us know. You can email us directly or call 202-800-2219 for Lorri or 802-262-6051 for Leslie.

Let people know you have Terrafirma

Participating in Terrafirma shows your land trust’s commitment to long-term defense of the land it owns or helped conserve. It shows that you understand how pooling resources with hundreds of other conservation organizations to share risk and resources helps everyone uphold conservation permanently. Let your landowners know that your land trust is a member owner of Terrafirma and how that helps to preserve their conservation vision. Here’s a sample letter to show you one way that another land trust shared the good news.

We’re here to help! If you have any questions about filing claims or anything else, please let us know. You can email us directly or call 202-800-2219 for Lorri or 802-262-6051 for Leslie.

Download Your 2014 Terrafirma Policy

You can download your land trust’s 2014 Terrafirma policy now by logging into your account here on the Terrafirma website. To download a PDF copy of your policy, simply log in to the website and click on the large green button giving you the option to “Download Policy”.

Thank you for your patience as Terrafirma worked through underwriting and billing issues on the 2014 applications. Your 2014 Terrafirma coverage is effective as of midnight March 1, 2014.

If you have any questions or experience any difficulties, please email us directly or call Lorri at 202-800-2219. We are here to help!

Find Challenges Challenging to Define?

Make plans now to track challenges that you may need to report on your Terrafirma membership confirmation next year. Remember, you do not need to report challenges if there is no damage to the property, nominal volunteer or staff time was needed to address the challenge, and you incurred no out of pocket expenses. To help you keep track of the different types of challenges, please see the definitions below.

Challenge	Definition
Violation	includes prohibited structures and uses, excessive recreational activity (such as all-terrain vehicles), surface alteration, timber harvest, and dumping, violation of a management plan and anything else that explicitly violates the stated terms of a conservation easement
Trespass	includes actions by third parties (neighbors, developers, government and so forth) such as vegetation removal, structural encroachment, fences, topography change and so forth.
Litigation Notice	when you receive written notice that a lawsuit has been filed against the land trust
Verbal or Other Threat of Violation or Trespass	includes threats to violate the conservation easement or trespass on fee land or conservation easement
Disregard of Easement Obligation	this is a catch all section for when a legal challenge does not fit into any other category for example transfer of water rights on paper to a holding company that technically disregards the no severance provision of the conservation easement but functionally retains the water rights in the same ownership
Mediation or Arbitration Notice	when you receive written notice of mediation or arbitration action
Adverse Claim of Legal Right	including adverse possession, contest by heir, boundary challenge, etc.

We’re here to help! If you have any questions about filing claims or anything else, please let us know. Email us at or call 202-800-2219 for Lorri or 802-262-6051 for Leslie.

Report Violations or Trepass on Insured Property

Have you seen any violations or trespass on your insured property this year? Remember to notify Terrafirma immediately when you first discover any problem that might become a claim under your Terrafirma 2013 policy (and tell your other insurers too just in case). Timing counts, so if you have something now file a claim by March 1, 2014. We will help you sort out the details and are always available to assist you. It's easy: go to the Terrafirma website, login and click on “Submit a Claim.”

We’re here to help! If you have any questions about filing claims or anything else, please let us know. You can reply to this email, email us directly or call 202-800-2219 for Lorri or 802-262-6051 for Leslie.

Plan Ahead to Manage Risk

What do a healthy risk management program and an informed and involved board have in common? They are both integral to the success of risk management because they determine the direction of the organization. If your board and senior leadership work together to plan for contingencies ahead of time – when heads are cool and time is on your side – you can avoid crises that could put you out of business.

Board members can also log on FREE to the Nonprofit Risk Management Center as affiliates of the Land Trust Alliance. See directions »

We’re here to help! If you have any questions about updating your policy, baselines or anything else, please let us know. You can reply to this email, email us directly or call 202-800-2219 for Lorri or 802-262-6051 for Leslie.

Re-enroll for 2014 Coverage

Your current Terrafirma coverage ends March 1, 2014. Please re-enroll on the Terrafirma website by updating your current policy information stored on the website.

The re-enrollment period begins December 1, 2013 and ends February 3, 2014.

It is easy as 1-2-3!

Add any new parcels and remove any assigned parcels
Re-confirm your eligibility
Click the “submit” button and mail your check

Once you re-enroll, the 2014 coverage period continues uninterrupted from the original policy date. Remember that everything is online; Terrafirma does not send paper invoices, notices or applications.

We know times are still tough and money is always tight.

If your board is thinking about not re-enrolling, here are a few things to consider:

You will lose the registration payment you have already paid. If you decide to re-enroll later, you’ll have to pay a higher registration fee (currently between $375 and $4,000). View the registration fee schedule »

Your coverage will end on March 1, 2014 and – even if you re-enroll a year later – you will have a coverage gap as a new policy will only be effective as of the reenrollment date. That essentially means it will only cover claims based on problems that first come to light after that date.

You’ll have to pay a 50% co-payment for any claims during the first year after your coverage re-starts.

Your reserves will be at higher risk without the Terrafirma safety net. If you do not have at least adequate reserves now, then your organization may be financially insecure. Legal challenges have already bankrupted land trusts; you don’t have to be the next sad story. Read more »

Can you afford NOT to re-enroll?