Baseline & Management Plan templateBASELINE DOCUMENTATION REPORT
and
LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN
Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Local Acquisitions for Natural Diversity (LAND) Grant Program
Propertyname:
Municipality:
Date acquired:
Registry:
Book/page: book/page where the deed/CR is recorded
LAND #:
Date of report: when are you writing this
Property
location:street address
Size: acres
Interest held by city/town: interest the town bought with the LAND grant
Other interest holders: if someone else holds the fee/CR, list here
Table of Contents
Section I: Property Information
Property description
LAND grant program regulations
Legal protection
Contact information
Land Use and Management Plan (if fee owned by town) and/or
Copy of Conservation Restriction (if CR) or
Section II: Maps
Resource map
Monitoring map
Section III: Site Visit Report
General information
Current property conditions
Boundary conditions
Section IV: Photographs
Photo location map
List of photographs
Photographs
Section V: Amendments
Section VI: Signatures
Section I:
Property Information
Property description
Theproperty nameproperty, located atstreet address, Assessors’ map/lot , is owned by / subject to a Conservation Restriction held by
the Town/City of , under care and control of the Conservation Commission, for the purposes of conservation and passive recreation, in perpetuity. It was recorded on date recorded, in
book page in the Registry of Deeds.
Local Acquisitions for Natural Diversity (LAND) grant program regulations
This property is permanently protected open space, for conservation and passive recreation only. It is subject to the standards and guidelines in 301 CMR 5.00: LAND and PARC Programs,
of the Division of Conservation Services, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA). Excerpted here are some of the major points:
5.06(4): Under the care and control of the Town/City of ______Conservation Commission
5.09(1): The property must be used at all times for open space conservation and passive recreation purposes only, in accordance with MGL Ch. 132A, Sec. 11
5.09(1): The property is permanently protected under Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution, and may not be converted to other uses. Municipalities must pursue all feasible alternatives
to conversion of grant-funded land. If conversion is finally determined to be the only possible choice, all of the following must occur: municipal approval of the conversion; a two-thirds
majority vote of both houses of the state legislature; replacement of the land with new conservation land that is of equal or greater fair market value at the time of conversion, and
of equal or greateracreage, ecological value, and usefulness, to be approved or disapproved by the Secretary of EEA.
5.09(2): If this property ceases to be used in whole or in part for conservation and/or passive recreation purposes, all interest in the property shall revert to the Commonwealth, unless
the Secretary demands specific performance of the grant contract. The Town/City of ______Conservation Commission must notify the Secretary of EEA of a change or potential change to
an inconsistent use, or, the Secretary of EEA may notify the Conservation Commission that an inconsistent change in use has occurred. The Conservation Commission has 90 days to rectify
the use to the satisfaction of the Secretary, or it will revert to the Commonwealth.
5.08(2) and (3): Open to use by all members of the public without discrimination
5.08(1): In accordance with the LAND program regulations, the Town/City of ______Conservation Commission may impose reasonable limits on the type and extent of use of this area and
facilities acquired, as necessary for maintenance or preservation.
5.06(1): Off-street parking may be required
No private enterprise may occur on properties for which the fee simple or encumbered fee is owned by the municipality, except that which contributes to and does not conflict with appropriate
public use and benefit.
Structures are prohibited on properties for which the fee interest is owned by the municipality, except those that further conservation or public passive recreational use of the property.
Legal protection
Through receipt of funding through the LAND grant program, this property is permanently protected under Article 97 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Ch. 132A, §11 – Act establishing the Self-Help (now LAND) grant program
Ch. 40, §8c – Authority of conservation commissions to hold land for conservation purposes
Article 97 – Prohibits conversion of the property from conservation and recreational use
LAND Project Agreement – Prohibits conversion of the property from conservation and recreationaluses. Requires mitigation in the event of conversion. Requires appropriate public access.
Recorded with deed.
Additional legal protections -
Contact Information
Provide contact information for property monitor or manager, landowner (if CR), and any other people or organizationsinvolved in the property.
Name
(organization)
Title (eg. property monitor)
Mailing address
Phone
what interest they hold, or what they will be responsible for doing
permanent
permanent
I.5. Land Management Plan
If the municipality acquired a Conservation Restriction (CR) with the LAND grant, use the CR to help you fill out the Management Plan section below.
Purpose:
All LAND-funded properties must provide access to the general public for passive recreational activities. The specific subset of permissible passive activities varies from project to
project and is described here.
Permitted publicactivities:
Note: These should be posted at the property entrance(s).
walking, hiking camping
Nordic skiing, snowshoeing hunting
horseback riding fishing
bicycle riding on designated trails gardening/agriculture
picnicking swimming
non-motorized watercraft
Other
Other
Other
Prohibited public activities:
Note: These should be posted at the property entrance(s).
motorized vehicles
fires swimming
horseback riding gardening/agriculture
bicycle riding alcoholic beverages
hunting entry after dark
fishingcollection of plants/animals/soil/rocks
OtherOther
OtherOther
OtherOther
Additional comments on use of this property:
Structures:
Structures that do not contribute to the conservation
Structure
Description
Intended use
Known stewardship issues/potential problems:
Stewardship responsibilities:
Entity responsible for management:
Plans for managing known stewardship issues:
Plans for regular management:
Active forest or agricultural management plans:
Harvesting of sawtimber or other forest management should be conducted only in consultation
with a licensed forester and preparation of a Forest Management Plan for long-term objectives.
Section II:
Maps
II.1. Resource map
II.2. Monitoring map
Section III:
Site Visit Report
III.1. General information
Date of inspection:
Time spent on property: hours
People present:
Name:
Affiliation:
III.2. Current property conditions
Note: This section may summarize some provisions of the CR or Management Plan. The entire CR document must be read in order to understand its terms.
A. Conditions of the property relevant to the purpose of this project:
Project purpose
Condition
Photo
B. Conditions of the property relevant to Permitted and Prohibited Uses:
Activity
Condition
Photo
Permitted
Prohibited
C. Additional remarks regarding the present condition of the property:
III.3. Boundary ConditionsDo the boundaries on the ground clearly correlate to the legal description found in the CR document or property deed (i.e. can you follow the boundary after
reading the description)? If not, how did you locate the property boundary?
(If CR):Are portions of the property which are excluded from the Restriction marked or otherwise evident on the ground?
Describe the condition of the boundary markings at all other points (i.e. stone wall, flagged, signed, unmarked):
Describe the use of abutting properties, focusing on uses close to the boundary line:
Any other comments on boundaries?
Section IV:
Photographs
IV.1. Photo location map
IV.2. List of documentary photographs
Photographer(s):
Date
Photo #
Location description (where the photographer was standing)
Cardinal direction
Description of photo subject
IV.3. Documentary Photographs
Section V:
Amendments
V. 1. How to amend this document
This property is permanently protected as open space for conservation and passive recreational use only. It is difficult to anticipate all potential changes to the property that may
occur, due to natural events, that may make it more or less appropriate for specific activities or uses. It is also difficult to know in the present the specific passive recreational
uses future visitors to the site may want. For these reasons, it may become necessary in the future for portions of the Land Management Plan to be revised. Property acquired with LAND
grant funding may not be used for active recreation.
The following sections of this document may be revised: I.4. Contact informationI.5. Land Management Plan sections:Permitted uses/activitiesProhibited uses/activitiesStructuresStewardship
plansActive management plans
Any changes to these sections must still adhere to the LAND grant program regulations, Project Agreement, Article 97 requirements, and any other pertinent regulations. All changes must
adhere to the terms of the Conservation Restriction, if applicable.
Procedure for amending this document:
Section VI:
Signatures
I certify that the above Baseline Documentation Report and Land Management Plan is accurate and complete.
I understand that this property is permanently protected open space under Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution, for conservation and passive recreation uses, under the care and
control of the Conservation Commission. I understand that the property may not be sold, subdivided, altered, or used for any other purposes, except by all of the following: approval
of the Conservation Commission; approval of the municipality by town meeting/city council vote; vote of approval by both houses of the Massachusetts State Legislature; approval by the
Governor of Massachusetts; mitigation by replacement with an unprotected property of equal or greater size, value at the time of disposition, ecological value, and passive recreational
value, subject to approval by the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Any change in use must also adhere to all relevant environmental laws and regulations, including but
not limited to the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Act and Endangered Species Protection Act, the Wetlands Protection Act, the Rivers Protection Act, and Global Warming Solutions
Act. ________________________________________________________________________ PreparerPrint name
________________________________________________________________________Municipal Chief Executive OfficerPrint name
________________________________________________________________________Conservation CommissionerPrint name
________________________________________________________________________
Conservation CommissionerPrint name
________________________________________________________________________
Conservation CommissionerPrint name
________________________________________________________________________
Conservation CommissionerPrint name
________________________________________________________________________________________________Print name
________________________________________________________________________________________________Print name______________________________________Date