Nomination Statement for Mid-Atlantic Region Candidate
Oliver Bass

At Natural Lands, we hold more than 450 conservation easements - to include the first in Pennsylvania, which was completed in the 1960s – and own 43 fee properties. We have participated in Terrafirma from the beginning and have benefitted from its coverage of our easements and, more recently, fee properties.

Given the number of properties in our portfolio, we have a great deal of experience handling a wide variety of challenging situations that could lead to litigation, the large majority of which can be resolved through conversation and negation. However, as we move to second and third generation landowners whose understanding of and commitment to their easements can vary, we are experiencing an increasing number of situations in which litigation becomes more difficult to avoid. And, as many other lands trusts have experienced, we are encountering increasingly creative attempts to circumvent conservation restrictions. It seems likely if not a certainty that this trend will continue in coming years.

Our ability as organizations to, when necessary, mount appropriate legal defense of protected lands, cannot be determined based solely upon the financial resources of an individual land trust. Terrafirma is an essential tool that provides added confidence that our organizations can defend our rights in those instances when litigation becomes unavoidable and maintain the integrity of easements as a vital tool for conservation.

If elected to the Member’s Committee, I will be particularly interested in ensuring that Terrafirma continues to be managed prudently so that it remains financially viable and sustainable. At the same time, we need to ensure that coverage is affordable and available to members when they need it. And, that coverage must adapt to the evolving challenges that our work faces.  Most importantly, I will endeavor to be accessible to the members in the mid-Atlantic region so that I can represent your interests effectively.