The partnership sought the aid of the Compatible Lands Foundation, an experienced land trust that conducted a thorough review of the property and confirmed significant conservation values, as well as developed a preliminary plan to accept a conservation easement donation.

Working hand-in-hand, the real estate partnership and Compatible Lands Foundation formulated a plan and determined the terms of the easement, which focused on five primary factors:

1. Retain the forest land under an approved healthy forest preserve program, requiring select logging.
2. Offer the value of stored carbon for potential cap and trade credits.
3. Improve the riparian buffer along a creek to improve the watershed into the Paint Rock River.
4. Maintain the property so as to provide foraging habitat for the endangered Gray bat, the Indiana bat and other species in the area.
5. Provide for recreational use through private hunting leases in which hunters would pay for the privilege to responsibly hunt the land.

This tremendous conservation effort would not have been possible without the private partnership of individuals actively seeking out new opportunities to preserve and protect our lands. Ultimately, this effort led to an environmentally important tract of land being conserved for future generations, a clear win for the local community and the broader conservation movement.