Intergrating stakeholders in public policy making: Examination of conservation easements program

The US continues to lose thousands of acres of productive farmland every year to urban and other nonagricultural uses. In fact, prime farmland is being converted to non agricultural uses at two to four times the rate of other, less-productive agricultural land in most states across the United States, including Arkansas. Conservation easements have evolved as one of the tools for land preservation. This dissertation utilized survey of stakeholders to examine conservation easement programs. The goal of this study was to conduct an analysis of the policy process related to the development a conservation easement program. Conservation easement programs in 12 states that have enacted state tax credits programs served as the basis for this analysis for the first study. The second study was to examine the potential for a state-wide conservation easement program in Arkansas.;The findings revealed that the availability of technical knowledge, with information specific to conservation easement was one of the important factors that led to increases in conservation easements in the study areas. Although easement violations were not common they do occur; regular monitoring schedule could reduce the incident of violations. The majority of the landowners have limited information on conservation easement; therefore there should be state-wide public education on conservation easement.