Conservation easements target high quality lands but do not increase their quality

Conservation programs targeted at private lands are essential for conserving biodiversity and mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change. Private land conservation programs typically focus on maximizing acres enrolled, but their outcomes are less studied. We used a counterfactual approach to measure the efficacy of private land protection investments in a high-value conservation region of the western United States, where private agricultural lands provide critical habitats that are not well-protected by public protected areas, but are highly vulnerable to development. We used difference-in-differences panel regressions and annual time series maps of land cover and mesic habitat quality derived from satellite imagery to measure whether conservation easements a) were placed on private lands of higher conservation quality compared to non-easements, and b) improved ecosystem condition after implementation. We found that conservation easements targeted private lands that are less developed and have more healthy ecosystems compared to non-easements. However, we found no evidence that after implementation easements were consistently less likely to be developed, or led to improved mesic ecosystem conditions. Our findings suggest that easements are being placed on high quality lands for conservation, but that they may be a missed opportunity for conservation because conservation and restoration are not always explicit goals of conservation easements, and thus they are not leading to ecosystem improvement after implementation. Through this analysis, we demonstrate the value of low-cost satellite monitoring protocols and statistical impact evaluation to assess conservation actions implemented on private lands.