Conservation Planning and Law

This seminar will explore planning techniques and legal issues surrounding protection of landscapes of natural, historical and cultural value and public uses of those landscapes. Students’ work is client-oriented and project-based. Prospective projects include extension of the Rivanna Trail system; protection of conservation easements in the Blue Ridge Mountains; development of trails connecting the University’s Morven Farm with adjacent historical and natural sites and linking Charlottesville to the Shenandoah National Park; and the creation of parks and conservation areas within the region. Students will have the opportunity to research the legal and institutional means by which natural and cultural sites are recognized and protected, issues of public use, access and liability, property instruments used in the creation of conservation sites (fee ownership, easements, leases), etc. We also plan to offer field trips to relevant sites.