More and more families and individuals are considering giving their land to the Conservation Foundation to keep it undeveloped and in a natural state forever. We are glad to receive these gifts, especially ecologically sensitive areas like shorelines and wetlands, but each gift has a hidden cost of many thousands of dollars in surveying, land appraisal and legal fees.

These hidden costs of a donation are in large measure funded by the Environmental Land Fund. Obviously, it would be a shame to lose the opportunity to protect an important piece of the Rideau Valley ecosystem because of the lack of a small fund to finance the efficient acceptance of a gift. The transaction costs were a small price to pay for these crucial pieces of the watershed puzzle.

This fund helps take care of these costs and brings important pieces of environmental land into public ownership.

Seeking Caring Professionals

The Conservation Foundation is also compiling a list of caring professionals who will donate the legal, surveying and appraisal services on donated land.