Due to lack of funding, as of January 2025, the National Conservation Easement Database is no longer being actively updated and supported. For the latest conservation easement spatial data, or for information on how to share your easements data with your state data steward, please visit the USGS Protected Areas Database website.
Raise your profile.
- Put your organization on the map! Join hundreds of other land trusts as well as local, state, and federal government agencies who report their activity in the National Conservation Easement Database.
- Show that your lands are well-documented and that your process is transparent.
- Demonstrate your impact on land conservation.
- Maps and data from NCED can help recruit volunteers, raise money, and market services.
Control your information.
- Organizations that share data with us control how their lands are displayed by NCED. Many organizations may be involved in a given acquisition, so other groups may report on one of your projects. Without your participation, information on your lands may not
- Credit your organization, or
- Stipulate proper privacy standards.
Plan and act more strategically.
Help Make the Case for Conservation.
- Create statistics about land conservation in your state or program area.
- Demonstrate the impact conservation easements have on conservation efforts in your region.
- Use NCED as a Research Tool:
- Researchers used NCED to help determine the pros and cons of protecting environmentally sensitive land, historically important land, and agricultural land with easements.
- Economic Return on Investment Analyses: Researchers in Colorado found that $595 million investment in conservation easements returned $3.51 billion in public benefits. A return of $6 for every $1 invested.
Advance public accountability.
