| This dissertation examines factors that dictate effectiveness among Colorado's community-based land trusts. Land trusts are defined as nonprofit organizations whose primary mission is to protect lands held in private ownership. Protecting natural amenities that are valued by the public on land that remains in private ownership make land trusts unique in the area of natural resource management.; The research is framed within a new institutional economics framework that argues that institutions generally evolve in manners that minimize transaction costs. Property is an institution, a collection of formal and informal rules defined in terms of how society wishes to manage its resources. Organizations function within the rules dictated by an institution. Land trusts are organizations that are emerging as a potent solution to protecting valuable natural assets that exist within private property. Therefore, land trusts warrant examination in terms of their ability to minimize transaction costs or, alternatively, to summon transaction resources.; These transaction resources, categorized as social capital, concentric regimes, and political entrepreneurs, are hypothesized as contributing to effectiveness among land trusts. A survey of twenty-seven land trusts in Colorado was examined in terms of their relative ability to convert these transaction resources into effective land trust actions. The single dependent variable, effectiveness, was defined as the number of activities completed per year. Activities include conservation easements, fee-simple purchases, and third-party transfers. The data were analyzed using traditional descriptive and inferential techniques as well as a combinatorial technique, fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis.; Results indicated significant associations between the dependent variable, effectiveness, and independent variables within the categories of social capital and concentric regimes. Weak or nonexistent associations were found with regard to political entrepreneurs. Other exogenous factors were examined as well. Effective land trusts were found where public sector open space programs were absent. There was no significant association between effectiveness and measures of threat from increasing population, housing development, or loss of agricultural lands. Conclusions suggest that land trusts that have active community education and outreach programs, do not actively solicit landowners to donate easements, and receive external government support are most effective. |
