Management Agreements (cont.)
Landowners typically carry out management plans, with technical assistance from the land trust.  Although management agreements are made for a specified period of time (typically ten years), they are renewable and can be canceled by either party with appropriate notice, as set forth in the agreement.

In some cases, management agreements can be used in combination with fee simple acquisition.  In such cases, a management agreement would be used so that the landowner can continue to live on and manage the land, even though title to the land has been transferred to the land trust.  Management agreements are beneficial to both parties in this scenario because the landowner is allowed to remain on the property, and the land trust has ensured the property is protected in perpetuity.

Case Study: a ranch management agreement
The Carpenter Ranch is a working cattle ranch comprised of 560 acre of private land in the Tortolita Mountains.  The Carpenter family homesteaded the ranch and raised cattle since the early 1920’s.  The ranch was sold to a conservation buyer to protect important wildlife habitat and ensure that the desert mountains remain intact and not subdivided for residential developments.  The Carpenter Ranch also offers notable cultural resources that warrant protection.  Under a ten-year Ranch Management Agreement mutually crafted by the ranching family and the conservation buyer, the ranching family will continue to live on and manage the property.  The ranch management agreement also ensures that the land is not over-grazed by outlining the management plan established with the National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS).  Both the landowner and NRCS staff create this plan.