Most of the undeveloped land in the eastern U.S. that we rely on for public benefits and ecosystem services is owned by private individuals and families. Every day these private landowners make decisions about who will own the land in the future and how it will be used. These decisions are the most significant driver of landscape change we face and will determine the public benefits that the land provides in the future (or doesn't provide!). This course will include discussions of permanent land protection tools to maintain the land in its natural state in perpetuity, temporary land protection tools such as current use programs, landowner decisions about the future of their land, maintaining the conservation values after the land has been protected, and local, state, and federal policies that encourage land protection.
- Teacher: Olivia Lukacic