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NCED State Reports
NCED Partners
- Conservation Biology Institute
- Defenders of Wildlife
- Ducks Unlimited
- Trust for Public Land
- NatureServe
- The Other Firm
The National Conservation Easement Database (NCED) is an initiative of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities. Additional financial support has been provided by the Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation; the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation; the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; the Knobloch Family Foundation; the Graham Foundation; the USDA Forest Service, State and Private Forestry; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Landscape Conservation Cooperative; and the U.S. Geological Survey. The NCED team also collaborates with the USGS National Gap Analysis Program (GAP) Protected Areas Database – United States (PAD-US) on data acquisition and standards.
NCED At A Glance
Number of Conservation Easements: 113,038
Total Acres: 23,532,044
Last Update: October 2015
What is the NCED?
The National Conservation Easement Database (NCED) is the first national database of conservation easement information, compiling records from land trusts and public agencies throughout the United States. Voluntary and secure, the NCED respects landowner privacy and will not collect landowner names or sensitive information. This public-private partnership brings together national conservation groups, local and regional land trusts, and state and federal agencies around a common objective. The NCED provides a comprehensive picture of the estimated 40 million acres of conservation easement lands, recognizing their contribution to America’s natural heritage, a vibrant economy, and healthy communities.
Purpose
In collaboration with land trusts and public agencies, create a single, up-to-date, sustainable nationwide system for managing and accessing data about conservation easements.
General Information Flyer [PDF] »
Information for Land Trusts or Agencies [PDF] »
Key Benefits »
Frequently Asked Questions »
About Data Privacy »
User's Guide (PDF) »
NCED Partners
The Trust for Public Land, Conservation Almanac:
The Conservation Almanac is a powerful online resource for discovering, analyzing, and mapping the results of
federal, state, and local funding for land conservation.
Ducks Unlimited, Conservation and Recreation Lands (CARL):
CARL is a GIS layer that contains information on conservation and recreation lands in the Great Lakes.
Defenders of Wildlife, The Conservation Registry:
The Registry tracks and maps conservation and restoration projects across the landscape, allowing users to view easements
in relation to these other efforts.
NatureServe, LandScope America:
LandScope brings together maps, data, photos, and stories about America’s natural places and open spaces to inform and
inspire conservation of our lands and waters.
Conservation Biology Institute, Protected Areas Center on Data Basin:
The Data Basin Protected Areas Center is a place where the world can come together to explore the global significance
of protected areas.
USGS National Gap Analysis Program (GAP):
The NCED team is working with the USGS National Gap Analysis Program’s Protected Areas Database - United States on data acquisition and data standards. The NCED data is being incorporated into the PAD-US database on an annual basis.
Download NCED Data
The NCED database was last updated in October 2015. The Updates Table shows what has been added and changed since June 2014. The Completeness Maps provide estimates of how complete the NCED data are for each state.
Please note that, by downloading or viewing this data, no right has been created to access lands with conservation easements. Most conservation easements are not open to the public. Entering an area that is not open to the public subjects an individual to possible sanctions for trespass, as determined by the state in which the easement is located.
The NCED can downloaded from the NCED Data Download page.
Login required.
NCED Newsletter
The NCED newsletter will be published quarterly to keep you updated regarding any version releases, progress of NCED, and how it is being used by interested parties across the country. We welcome comments and suggestions regarding this newsletter and NCED in general. If you have used NCED in your work send comments and stories here.
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Easement Holder or Landowner?
If you are an easement holder or landowner, please help us continue to build NCED by submitting your data or digitizing your easements.
NCED is a vital informational resource
Before the NCED was created no single, nationwide system existed for sharing and managing
information about conservation easements. By building the first national
database and web site to access this information, the NCED helps agencies,
land trusts, and other organizations plan more strategically, identify
opportunities for collaboration, advance public accountability, and raise
the profile of what's happening on-the-ground in the name of conservation.
Read more »
How can I participate?
A knowledgeable representative from our project team will contact you to discuss your interest in participating, what easement data you have, and how it can be formatted for the database.
Find the NCED contact for your state »
Submit your easement data online »
NCED User Survey
We are asking users of the National Conservation Easement Database (NCED) to share their opinions so we may better understand and respond to the needs of our diverse user base.