Abstract
With an increase in the number of organizations promoting easements as a tool for private land conservation, it is important to understand the characteristics and motivations of landowners who choose to become involved in these programs. The objective of this study was to further understand and analyze grantor behavior by examining and comparing the motivations of easement grantors in areas of both lower and higher development pressure. This thesis probed the following research questions: 1) what are the landowners' motivations for placing a conservation easement on their property; and, 2) do these motivations vary depending on the level of development pressure? Research involved a mixed methods approach combining a survey questionnaire with a subset of interviews. Results indicate that motivations for placing conservation easements do not significantly differ between regions and suggest that conservation organizations should not need to specifically strategize for varying levels of development pressure.