Amending Perpetual Conservation Easements: A Case Study of the Myrtle Grove Controversy

This article explores the issue of amending perpetual conservation easements by examining the Myrtle Grove controversy, in which the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States (the "National Trust")" "conceptually approved" a request made by a successor owner of land encumbered by a perpetual conservation easement to substantially amend the easement. Several months later, as a result of public opposition to the amendments and a reassessment of its position, the National Trust withdrew that approval. The owner of the encumbered land subsequently filed a suit for breach of contract, and the National Trust and the Attorney General of Maryland defended the easement primarily on the ground that the easement constitutes a charitable trust and could not be amended as proposed without court approval in a cy pres proceeding.