So far, Historic New England has secured easements on only three modern houses: two here in Lincoln, where more than 60 such homes were built, and one in New Canaan, Conn., where dozens of modern houses remain.
Lawrence Shapiro, who argued for the borough, said he expected that towns would have an easier time securing easements.
To complete the project, towns along the entire length of the island had to secure easements from oceanfront residents.
Though about 40% of the land was purchased outright, the bulk was secured through easements that require the owners to continue living and working the property while protecting the land from development.
A nearby landowner acquired the parcel, secured a conservation easement and agreed to lease the acreage to Mr. Lewis.
The easements secured by the Farmland Trust in the past 10 years have not quite kept pace with the forces of commercial development, yet they represent far more than a respectable show of resistance.
The agency also secured more than 1,300 easements for paths to the shore through private property, and its efforts led to the preservation of much of Highway 1 as a two-lane road weaving through farmland, cliffs and dunes.
So he asked his real-estate scout, a semi-retired businessman named Seth Ward, to drive out and look into securing an easement.
NRCS will proceed with the development of the GRP management plan, conservation or restoration plan if applicable, and various easement acquisition activities, which may include conducting a legal survey of the easement area, securing necessary subordination agreements, procuring title insurance, and conducting other activities necessary to record the easement or implement GRP.
Scenic Hudson, which secured the option to purchase the property, also placed a conservation easement on part of another neighboring 26-acre former estate property owned by the Unification Church and has assigned that to the county.
In 2013, the family worked to secure a permanent conservation easement through the Vermont Land Trust.
