the conservancy

Pacolet Area Conservancy (PAC), a local nonprofit 501(c)(3) land trust organization located in Polk County, works with private landowners to establish conservation easements and is then responsible for monitoring those easements, in perpetuity. A conservation easement is a recorded deed restriction, with the right to enforce the restriction given to a tax-exempt charitable organization in the land conservation field or to a governmental agency. PAC is the logical third party to oversee the conservation easements on Walnut Creek Preserve because of its commitment to sustaining open land in the Polk County area and its history of negotiating and overseeing local conservation easements. The Stricklands contributed to PAC the requisite stewardship fee for the Walnut Creek Preserve conservation holdings when the conservation easement was granted. An inital easement of almost 900 acres was made in 2005 and an additional easement grant of 490 acres was made in 2007.