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The article discusses the potential impact that an amendment to Vermont's conservation easement statute could have on the future of long distance hiking trails such as Vermont's Long Trail as of 2015, and it mentions land conservation efforts, state laws, and an assessment of Maine's conservation easement law. The legal rights of private landowners are examined, along with legislative bills and the tension between the Vermont Land Trust and the Upper Valley Land Trust.

The article focuses on the first and the only comprehensive conservation easement reform law in the U.S. that was enacted in Maine, which covers more land under conservation easement as compared to any other U.S. state. It mentions several requirements for every conservation easement in the state under the reform law including easement monitoring, public registration, and the safeguard of easements against tax foreclosure. It says that the reform has gained strong and broad support from the state's conservation easement leaders since its enactment in 2007. It suggests that the country should also enact such type of reform law.