I volunteer with a regional land trust, and I think you're maybe misunderstanding the conservation easement process, or at least it's typical application. The

I volunteer with a regional land trust, and I think you're maybe misunderstanding the conservation easement process, or at least it's typical application. The typical process is: Private Landowner Decides they want to conserve their land. They work with a Land Trust to define, and put in place the restrictions of that conservation easement. Those typically restrict development (though the landowner can in some cases "carve out" future building sites), and depending on the goals of the landowner and land trust, could allow things like agriculture, forestry, recreation etc.. I'm sure there's a conservation easement somewhere that restricts public access, but I've never seen one. Most commonly, the land stays inaccessible to the public just like it was before the easement, but nothing in the legal language of the easement prohibiting future public access. (One conservation easement manager half-joked that every easement we do has public access potential, it just might take a few generations for that potential to be realized). Next, that easement goes through the legal process of being put into place. Now, that land is subject to the restrictions of that easement forever. And it's the job (legal responsibility) of the Land Trust that holds the easement to regularly monitor the easements they hold, and make sure they're followed. However, the original landowner still owns the land, just like before. If they sell the land, or someone inherits, it's still (de facto) private land, just private land with restrictions as to what can be done on it. Now, there are private landowners who want to open their land to public access, and that's amazing. (We did our first few public access-specific easements this year at our comparatively-small land trust, and we're super excited). There are also times where a landowner puts an easement on their property, and then sells it to someone like a local, regional or state institution to be managed specifically for public access. There was recently a great story about how private individuals stepped in to conserve land, and then later transferred it to Washington State Parks[1]. There are also times when a property might transfer ownership, as well as the easement, to a Land Trust. We actually have one of these that we basically operate as a public park. But, that's like less than 2% of the total easements we hold. So, to your points, I guess I would say: The process of conservation easements by large _increases_ the amount of land available for public access and recreation, not decreases it. And if anyone is becoming a tenant farmer, it's the landowner choosing to become a tenant themselves. There are times when an outside entity might purchase the easement from the landowner, but again, the landowner's not forced into that transaction. 1. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/washington/articles/2021-12-21/washington-buys-more-steptoe-butte-land-to-preserve-it https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/washington/articles/...