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Events

MS Thesis Defense - Environmental Science and Policy

Nov 17, 2025, 1:30 - 3:30 PM

Johnson Center 336, meeting room F

MS Thesis
Department of Environmental Science and Policy
College of Science
George Mason University 


 

Candidate: Trinity Mills
Defense Date and Time: November 17, 2025 at 1:30pm
Defense Location: Johnson Center 336, meeting room F
Title: Access Against Alienation: Exploring the Status and Implications of Public Access to Conservation Easement Properties in Virginia  

Thesis Director: Dr. Levi Van Sant
Committee: Dr. Michelle Ryan and Prof. Andrew Wingfield 

 

ABSTRACT

  

The increased popularity of private conservation easements in the United States has resulted in heightened interest in the ways that the public interacts with them. I situate these issues in literature on the importance of access to nature, neoliberal governance, and environmental justice. Interviews with Virginia conservation professionals found that prioritization of public access to private conservation lands is increasing but is not the top priority for most land trusts. This thesis argues that greater academic and practical discourse is warranted to explore how to provide public access to conservation easements as a way of addressing broader alienation from nature. 

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