What is Private stewardship?

Private stewardship is defined as the voluntary participation of private landowners, or other participants to nature conservation. This participation can involve the donation of part or all of a property or a legal conservation agreement. Since ACA’s territory is mostly privately owned, you as a landowner can contribute to the protection of your region’s biodiversity.

Conserve, yes, but how?

Tools designed for landowners

The voluntary participation of landowners is the key to the success of ACA’s.conservation projects.

If you wish to protect the natural appeal of your property for yourself, your family, and future generations, many options are available to you.

You could choose to :

• Sell or donate all or part of your property
• Establish a conservation agreement with a conservation organization
• Have your land designated as a nature reserve

Your choice will depend on several factors

1. Your personal objectives - Do you want to retain ownership of the land? Are you interested in benefiting from tax breaks or getting monetary compensation? Do you wish to protect the entire property or just some of its features? Do you want to carry out certain activities on your land or give up all rights to its use?

2. The location and specific ecological characteristics of your property - Your property may be located in a particularly eco-sensitive area of the Appalachian Corridor or harbour rare or threatened plant or animal species.

Conservation organizations can help you determine the best option for you. As your front-line partners, they can help you achieve your objectives by supporting your interactions with biologists, environmental experts, notaries, chartered appraisers, and other professionals. They have the tools, documentation, and experience needed to negotiate and implement agreements and to administer the protected properties.

Conservation organizations supporting ACA are:

• Mount Echo Conservation Association
• L'association de la conservation de la nature de Stukely-sud
• Nature conservancy Canada
• Alderbrooke Marsh Land Trust
• Mount Pinnacle Land Trust
• Valley Ruiter Land Trust
• Lake Brome Wetlands Foundation
• Memphremagog Wetlands Foundation
• le Parc d'environnement naturel de Sutton
• Les Sentiers de l'Estrie
• La société de conservation du corridor naturel de la rivière au Saumon
• La société de protection foncière du lac Montjoie

These organizations have worked hard for more than fifteen years to raise awareness among landowners and have concluded agreements with many of them.