Legal Services
Conservation Partners is counsel to more than a dozen land trusts and other organizations involved in conservation transactions throughout California. We provide the range of legal services required by nonprofit land trusts, including negotiating transactions; advising staff and board regarding organizational and policy matters; providing legal advice on stewardship issues; assisting with drafting plans, manuals, policies and procedures; obtaining certification from the Land Trust Alliance and providing training at meetings and workshops.

Clients include:

• Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust
• California Council of Land Trusts
• Inland Mendocino County Land Trust
• Mendocino Land Trust
• Mojave Desert Land Trust
• The Land Trust of Napa County
• National Audubon Society - California
• Nevada Land Conservancy
• Redwood Coast Land Conservancy
• Shasta Land Trust
• Sierra Cascade Land Trust Council
• Solano Land Trust
• Wilderness Land Trust
• Yolo Land Trust

Consulting
Working alongside professionals with complementary expertise and experience, we have drafted conservation plans and manuals including:

• Stewardship Manual (published in 2006)– As part of a team, prepared an extensive stewardship plan for the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District.
• Agricultural Conservation Easement Plan– As part of team, prepared a detailed agricultural conservation easement plan for the Solano Land Trust .
• Land Trust Policies and Procedures– Prepared policies and procedures for several land trusts regarding conflicts of interest, mitigation arrangements and stewardship and record retention.

We offer workshops for staff and boards. Topics include drafting techniques, conflicts of interest and understanding Land Trust Alliance Standards and Practices.

Public Speaking
Harry Pollack has given numerous presentations at conservation conferences and continuing education courses on a wide variety of conservation matters. Recent speaking and training engagements include:

• CCLT November 2009 Law Forum
• Guest lecturer at UC Berkeley, Dept. of City and Regional Planning
• CCLT Annual Conference – March 2009
• Third Annual (San Francisco) CLE Conservation Easement Conference – Nov. 2009

Land Exchanges
Conservation Partners has partnered with the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on land exchanges in both Northern and Southern California.  Scattered parcels with no existing public resource value have been exchanged for large pieces of contiguous lands with significant conservation values.  Lands acquired in recent years include the Payne Ranch along Cache Creek in Northern California, Los Osos on the Pacific Coast near San Luis Obispo, Kennedy Meadows and the Sprague Ranch in the Southern Sierra Nevada.