# Conservation easement monitoring software that makes the annual site visit defensible

> Conservation easement monitoring is the annual inspection and written record confirming a protected property still complies with the restrictions in its deed of easement. Land Trust Standards and Practices asks for monitoring at least once per calendar year, section 170(h) requires the restriction to run in perpetuity, and the national database has catalogued more than 201,000 easements covering over 33,000,000 acres. Neurobird turns each visit into a dated, photo matched, comparable record.

- URL: https://neurobird.com/easementwatch/
- Product: Neurobird Conservation Easement Monitoring Compliance Platform
- Niche: conservation easement monitoring
- Buyer: land trusts and easement holders
- Status: in development, open for early access
- Updated: 2026-08-21

## What Neurobird Conservation Easement Monitoring does

- Hold reserved rights, permitted structures and amendment history as data on the easement
- Give the monitor last year's photo points and open findings in the field
- Capture findings, photographs and locations once, in the field, not twice
- Produce a dated annual monitoring report that a court or an accreditation reviewer can follow

## How it works

1. **Hold the easement terms as data** Reserved rights, permitted structures, acreage limits and amendment history live on the easement, not in a scanned deed nobody rereads.
2. **Monitor against last year** Photo points, prior findings and open issues are on the phone in the field, so the visit is a comparison rather than a fresh look.
3. **Produce the report on the way home** Findings, photographs, locations and landowner contact become the annual monitoring report without a second pass at a desk.

## From the source material

> Those are the kinds of indicators that should cause investors to pause and ask whether they are being sold a tax product, rather than participating in a genuine conservation easement transaction.

Source: IRS, conservation easements, https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/conservation-easements

## Industry context

- **1 per year** Practice 11C asks a land trust to monitor each conservation easement property at least once per calendar year, with on the ground visits at a defined frequency even where aerial monitoring is used. (source: Land Trust Alliance, Practice 11C, https://landtrustalliance.org/resources/learn/explore/practice-11c-conservation-easement-monitoring)
- **12 months** Accreditation applicants must provide a project list showing that every conservation easement was monitored and every fee property inspected within the last 12 months. (source: Land Trust Accreditation Commission, https://landtrustaccreditation.org/news/annual-monitoring-inspections)
- **170(h)** A qualified conservation contribution has to be a restriction granted in perpetuity for a conservation purpose. Perpetuity is what turns monitoring from a courtesy into a legal obligation. (source: eCFR, 26 CFR 1.170A-14, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/section-1.170A-14)
- **2.5 times** Deductions from certain syndicated easement partnerships are disallowed above 2.5 times a partner's basis, and the IRS treats those deals as listed transactions, so documentation quality now sits under a brighter light. (source: IRS, conservation easements, https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/conservation-easements)
- **30 years** USDA wetland reserve easements can run 30 years or in perpetuity, each carrying its own monitoring, compliance and restoration expectations for the holding agency. (source: USDA 7 CFR Part 1468, conservation easement programme, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-7/subtitle-B/chapter-XIV/subchapter-B/part-1468)

## Pricing

- Small land trust: $95 per month, up to 50 easements
- Regional land trust: $220 per month, up to 250 easements
- Statewide program: $420 per month, unlimited easements

## Questions

### What is conservation easement monitoring?

Conservation easement monitoring is the annual inspection and written record confirming that a protected property still complies with the restrictions in its deed of easement. It is how a holder demonstrates it is actually enforcing the restriction it accepted, which matters because the restriction is meant to last in perpetuity.

### How often does an easement have to be monitored?

Land Trust Standards and Practices asks a land trust to monitor each conservation easement property at least once per calendar year, and to conduct on the ground visits at a defined frequency even where aerial or satellite monitoring is used. Accreditation applicants have to show that every easement was monitored within the last 12 months.

### What is baseline documentation and why does it matter?

The baseline documentation report records the condition of the property at the moment the easement was granted. Every later monitoring visit is a comparison against it. If the baseline is thin, vague or unsigned, proving a change happened after the grant becomes very difficult.

### What happens when monitoring finds a violation?

It becomes an enforcement matter, and enforcement runs on the record. Dated photographs from a repeatable photo point, a clear reading of the reserved rights and a documented conversation with the landowner are what separate a resolved issue from a lawsuit nobody wanted.

### Does this replace our GIS?

No. Boundaries, imagery and spatial analysis stay in GIS. This holds the easement terms, the visit history, the findings and the reports, and points at the spatial data rather than trying to be it.

## Sources

- [IRS, conservation easements](https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/conservation-easements)
- [eCFR, 26 CFR 1.170A-14](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/section-1.170A-14)
- [USDA 7 CFR Part 1468, conservation easement programme](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-7/subtitle-B/chapter-XIV/subchapter-B/part-1468)
- [Land Trust Alliance, Practice 11C](https://landtrustalliance.org/resources/learn/explore/practice-11c-conservation-easement-monitoring)

## Contact

- office@neurobird.com
- https://neurobird.com/