Conservation easements and leases represent voluntary agreements that support habitat protection, working lands conservation, and long-term stewardship across the landscape.
The Conservation Tracker includes summarized information on conservation agreements supported through a variety of programs and partners. These may include permanent conservation easements as well as temporary lease-based efforts such as Grassland CRP and other conservation leasing mechanisms. Individual agreement records are not publicly available in their original form. Instead, data is aggregated to provide landscape-scale context while respecting landowner privacy and program requirements.
What This Data Represents
Conservation easements are long-term or permanent agreements that restrict certain land uses in order to protect conservation values such as wildlife habitat or open space. These agreements are typically held by a land trust or public entity and remain in place even if ownership changes.
Conservation leasing programs, including temporary ones such as Grassland CRP, support conservation outcomes through fixed contracts. These agreements may encourage practices such as maintaining grassland cover, limiting conversion, or implementing habitat-friendly management during the contract period.
Together, these conservation tools represent some of the most durable forms of conservation investment, helping to sustain habitat and working lands over time.
How the Data Is Compiled
Because easement and leasing datasets often contain sensitive landowner and parcel-level information, source records are not publicly distributed in full detail. Information shown in the Conservation Tracker is compiled through internal dataset.
Agreement locations and attributes are generalized to ensure confidentiality while still allowing users to understand where conservation agreements are contributing to broader landscape goals.
What Is Included
- General agreement type
- Approximate location or agreement area
- Agreement duration, when available
What Is Not Included
To protect landowner confidentiality, the following information is intentionally excluded:
- Exact easement or lease boundaries
- Parcel identifiers or landowner information
- Legal terms or contract-specific restrictions
How to Interpret This Information
The agreement data shown here is intended to provide a high-level picture of where long-term and temporary conservation tools are being applied.
These summaries are designed to support planning, collaboration, and transparency around conservation investments, not property-level enforcement or site-specific decision-making.
Updates and Maintenance
Conservation easement and leasing information is updated periodically as new agreements are reported and partner datasets are refreshed.