Groups Collaborate to Create Great Salt Lake Conservation Easement Landowner Resource

Utah State University’s Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water and Air is working with the Utah Association of Conservation Districts and the Great Salt Lake Sentinel Landscape program to create a conservation easement management guide for landowners. This resource will compile best practices for land management, ownership change and information on existing program support.

Great Salt Lake Sentinel Landscape is a partnership that connects natural resource issues to national security. Conservation easements are used by the installations within the sentinel landscape to limit development immediately outside the installation.

In a conservation easement, the landowner agrees to forego certain land rights — such as the right to develop, extract resources or subdivide the property — while retaining ownership of the land. Providing information in alignment with sentinel landscape goals and connecting landowners with program support increases the likelihood that easements are appropriately managed.

“The limit on new development is only a start, effectively managing for wildfire fuel reduction, habitat and water conservation furthers sentinel landscape goals. We depend on landowners for those benefits from the easement” said Marisa Weinberg, Great Salt Lake Sentinel Landscape coordinator.

“Partnering with the Utah Association of Conservation Districts to build and deliver this resource ensures we provide the most current, accurate, and impactful information to landowners within the sentinel landscape and across the state” said Anna McEntire, managing director of the Institute for Land, Water and Air.

The project is funded through the Sentinel Landscape Partnership and tentatively scheduled for completion by the end of 2027.

The Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water and Air was established in 2021 through a resolution by the Utah Legislature to convene stakeholders, advance research and guide policy decisions.

Projects partnering with the Great Salt Lake Sentinel Landscape and Utah Association of Conservation Districts continue this mission by providing actionable insights to support sustainable management of conservation easements across the state and within the sentinel landscape boundary.

The Great Salt Lake Sentinel Landscape spans more than 2.7 million acres in Northern Utah and includes four military installations, the Western Hemisphere’s largest saline lake and Utah’s largest natural freshwater lake. Increasing aridity, population growth and limited water supplies threaten ecosystem health, air quality, economic vitality and military readiness through incompatible development near installations. Sentinel Landscape partners are working together to align interests, leverage resources and build long-term resilience for Utah’s defense communities and ecosystems.

The Utah Association of Conservation Districts represents Utah’s 38 local conservation districts as part of a nationwide network dedicated to protecting soil, water, wildlife and working lands. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, it supports locally led conservation by empowering appointed supervisors and connecting landowners with trusted technical expertise and state and federal resources.