Tool 2: Land Conservation, Continued

Key Land Conservation Choices for the Watershed Manager

When applying the land conservation tool, a watershed manager must make some careful choices about the mix of conservation areas to protect and what techniques to employ. Given the large areas that need to be conserved within some subwatersheds, many different conservation techniques need to be applied to cover the patchwork of public and private lands across a subwatershed. Some of the land conservation choices a watershed manager often has to make include the following questions; how do these apply to your watershed?

• What fraction of the watershed needs to be conserved?
• What are the highest priorities for land conservation?
• Long-term management?
• What incentives can encourage stewardship of private lands?
• Does a land trust exist to accept and manage conservation areas?
• What are the most appropriate techniques to conserve land?
• How should conservation areas be delineated?