What It Means to Monitor the Land

1/13/2026

As we celebrate the end of 2025 and the start of a new year, CDLT staff are wrapping up an important annual task: property monitoring. This work is a core part of our commitment to stewarding both the lands we own and the lands protected through conservation easements.

Each year, staff visit all 42 properties owned by CDLT, as well as the 19 properties protected by conservation easements. During these visits, we document any changes on the land and, for conservation easements, ensure that all conditions remain within the terms of the easement.

Those with science backgrounds may hear the word “monitoring” and think of data collection. While we do collect data in the form of notes and photographs, these visits are primarily focused on qualitative observations. Completing these site visits and writing a report for each property helps build institutional knowledge and is also a critical requirement of being an accredited land trust.
We approach each property with curiosity, and there is always something new to notice: a springboard cut on an old cedar stump, a beaver’s well-worn path to the river, or, occasionally, a rare species. Monitoring visits offer staff the opportunity to set down their tools and reflect on our role in stewarding the land—in perpetuity.

View photos below: