Conservation Restriction Review Program

Find details here on the Conservation Restriction (CR) Review Program, and links to other resources you may find helpful in preparing your CR for review.

What is a Conservation Restriction - A conservation restriction is a legally enforceable agreement whose purpose is to ensure permanent protection of specific conservation values while permitting limited land uses consistent with the protection of said conservation values. Different from term-limited restrictions, conservation restrictions, as defined in Sections 31-33 of Chapter 184 of the Massachusetts General Laws, are permanent restrictions that require the approval “in the public interest” of the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs. DCS manages all reviews for CRs that will be held by charitable corporations/trusts, or municipalities.

We are pleased to announce the launch of the new Conservation Restriction Tracking System (CRTS), developed by the EEA IT team to streamline the submission and review of Conservation Restrictions (CRs) by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA), Division of Conservation Services (DCS). This web-based application replaces the manual submission process with a centralized digital system that guides applicants through submissions, organizes required information and supporting documents, provides automated confirmations and status updates, and helps reduce errors and incomplete applications that can delay review and approval. For technical assistance please contact Denise Galvao the DCS Program Coordinator ([e-mail]).

Applicants can create an account or log in using their credentials at Appian for Commonwealth of MA Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs to begin a new CR submission through the New Application tab or access the dashboard to continue an existing application. 

Important information when drafting or submitting to EEA-DCS

• Conservation Restrictions (CRs) may be granted by public or private landowners only to qualified organizations. The landowner granting the CR is the “Grantor”.
• Organizations qualified to hold CRs (the “Grantee”) include governmental units (e.g., Conservation Commissions or Water Supply Divisions) and non-profit organizations whose purposes include conservation of land or water (e.g., a land trust/conservancy or similar organization). CRs may be “co-held” by more than one grantee.
  • The Grantor and Grantee may not be the same entity, nor may they be divisions of the same entity (e.g., a Select Board and Conservation Commission of the same town).
• Amendments to existing CRs are considered a new submission and must go through the same review process as a new CR.
  • Parties are encouraged to seek their own legal council before submitting an Amendment to EEA-DCS.
• Practitioners are strongly encouraged to follow EEA-DCS Model Conservation Restriction.
• Please do not proceed with obtaining local approvals and signatures until receiving a formal notice from EEA-DCS to do so.

To submit a CR for review please log into the EEA-DCS Conservation Restriction Tracking System.

1. Download CRTS Login User Guide.
2. Submit draft Conservation Restriction and applicable review materials via CRTS. - Appian for Commonwealth of MA Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs
   1. Once your complete submission is received, we will email an acknowledgement letter.
   2. For file uploads to CRTS, please avoid special characters and spaces when naming files. Use the following naming convention for your attached file: [municipality]_[doctype]. Example: Hadley_Deed.
   3. When establishing CR contact information, please be mindful of the access permissions which are intended to maintain a single, consistent line of communication between the applicant and the CR reviewer, ensuring clarity and continuity throughout the review process.
      • Primary Contact: Has full access to manage the Conservation Restriction (CR) submission, including uploading documents, tracking review progress, and communicating directly with the CR reviewer through the database.
      • Secondary Contact: Has read-only access to track the CR submission's progress and view communications but cannot upload documents, make edits, or send messages.

Resources:

1. EEA-DCS Model Conservation Restriction
2. MassMapper - search, display, query and download MassGIS geospatial data
3. Plans, Policies, Programs, Helpful in Demonstrating Public Benefit