Pilot Property Criteria

What the first pilot property looks like. Selection criteria, current candidates, and deployment-readiness checklist.

What the first pilot must be

Criterion	Why
Vermont (US)	Lowest-risk jurisdiction; BBLLC alignment; mature land-trust ecosystem; in-house counsel familiarity
Tier 1 template (A or B)	Lower deployment cost and complexity than Template C; faster timeline; proves Tier 1 architecture before Tier 2
Stakeholder values conservation thesis as much as revenue	First-cohort properties accept revenue uncertainty; pilot landowner must not be financially dependent on Earth Credit revenue
Conservation context is straightforward	No complex multi-stakeholder situations; ideally a clean Template A or Template B fit
Existing Landseed or the co-architect relationship	Pilot deployment is high-touch; familiarity reduces friction
Property has established baseline data	EC-M-1.1 satellite assessment can produce baseline ECI; sensor deployment can follow

What the first pilot should NOT be

Avoid	Why
Template C deployment	Template C is reserved for Year 2; first Tier 2 deployment requires architecture-level confidence first
Multi-jurisdictional complexity	International work in Year 2; first pilot is US-only
Properties with disputed title or ambiguous ownership	Deployment cannot proceed; defer until ownership is clear
Properties under regulatory pressure (e.g., active enforcement actions)	Inappropriate for pilot; may complicate deployment
Properties subject to disputed easements	Deferred until easement coordination is resolved
Properties owned by speculative parties	First-cohort participants must be conservation-aligned

Current candidates

NEWT Nulhegan Basin (proposed)

Northern Vermont. Conservation history. Existing partner relationships.

Attribute	Status
Jurisdiction	Vermont — ✓ Tier 1 jurisdiction
Template fit	Likely B (land-trust co-management with NEWT)
Ownership clarity	✓ Established
Conservation context	Strong; existing easement structure
the co-architect relationship	✓ Existing
Conservation thesis fit	✓ Strong
Revenue uncertainty acceptance	TBD with NEWT board; institutional buyers can absorb early-stage uncertainty
Baseline assessment readiness	Satellite-only baseline can be established in 2–4 weeks

Status: candidate; engagement to confirm fit.

Other candidates

If NEWT Nulhegan does not work for the first pilot:

Candidate	Notes
the co-architect’s Vermont conservation network properties	the co-architect has multiple existing relationships; specific property TBD
Vermont Land Trust co-managed properties	Template B fit; institutional partner
Massachusetts Audubon properties (state extension after Vermont)	Year 2 candidate

Pilot evaluation checklist

Before committing to a specific pilot:

Property characteristics

• Located in target jurisdiction (Vermont for first pilot)
• Clear and unambiguous ownership
• Title verified through title insurance
• Existing conservation context understood
• No conflicting encumbrances
• Acceptable boundary clarity
• Accessible for measurement (satellite-based; sensor-deployable if Earth Pulse Network expands)

Stakeholder characteristics

• Stakeholder values conservation thesis
• Stakeholder accepts revenue uncertainty
• Stakeholder has institutional governance (or family alignment)
• Stakeholder is committed to long-term (99-year term acceptance)
• No significant intra-stakeholder disputes

Architectural fit

• Template fit is clear (A, B, or G; not C or F for first pilot)
• Distribution percentages can be negotiated within parameter ranges
• Wrapper entity choice is clear (Vermont LLC for Tier 1)
• §170(h) deduction need is clarified (drives 501(c)(3) coordination)
• Methodology version is appropriate (EC-M-1.1)

Operational readiness

• Pre-deployment self-check (04-perimeter/07-pre-deployment-self-check.md) can be completed
• Counsel work is complete or near-complete
• Smart contract / multi-sig wallet ready (Tier 1 multi-sig is simple)
• Initial methodology assessment scheduled

Pilot deployment plan

Once pilot is confirmed:

Week	Activity
1–4	Confirm template; negotiate parameters; KYC
4–8	Wrapper LLC formation; multi-sig wallet setup
8–12	NRD-lite drafted (Vermont template); pre-clearance with recording office
10–14	NRD-lite recorded; 501(c)(3) coordination if needed
12–16	Initial methodology assessment performed; baseline ECI established
14–18	Pre-deployment self-check; final operational testing
16–20	Pilot deployment goes live

Total: 16–20 weeks from confirmation to deployment. Earlier deployment phases can run partially in parallel.

What “first pilot operational” means

When the first pilot is operational:

• NRD-lite is recorded
• Wrapper LLC is formed and operating per agreement
• Multi-sig wallet is functional
• Initial methodology assessment is complete
• Baseline ECI is established
• All beneficiaries are KYC’d
• Annual reporting cadence is established
• Compliance officer has signed off on pre-deployment self-check

This is the operational baseline. Subsequent deployments proceed at scale.

After first pilot

Successful first pilot enables:

• Architecture validation (real-world proof)
• Outside-review affirmation (regulators, partners can examine)
• Pipeline development (additional Vermont properties; second-jurisdiction template work)
• Lessons learned (cost, timing, operational pain points)

Failed first pilot triggers:

• Architecture re-evaluation
• Specific issue resolution
• Possible scope adjustment

Pilot communication

For the first pilot:

• Internal communication: rigorous; all stakeholders informed
• External communication: minimal; pilot is not a marketing event
• Public communication: deferred until pilot is operational and stable
• the co-architect is the primary external communicator (his standing in conservation networks gives the pilot credibility)

Year 2 expansion

After first pilot stabilizes (3–6 months operational), Year 2 pilots:

• 1–2 additional Vermont Template A or B properties
• First Template C deployment (Madagascar, with established partner)
• First non-US Tier 1 (Madagascar private property if available)

Year 2 cost roughly $1.0M–$1.8M; multiple deployments in parallel.

What pilot success measures

The first pilot’s success is measured by:

• Architectural validation (does the architecture work?)
• Operational learnability (what did we learn that we didn’t know?)
• Stakeholder satisfaction (is the landowner/institution happy?)
• Cost adherence (did we stay within $750k working budget?)
• Timeline adherence (did we deploy within 12-month working timeline?)

A successful pilot validates the architecture for scaling. An unsuccessful pilot triggers re-evaluation, which is a normal architectural-evolution step, not a failure.

What pilot does NOT measure

The first pilot does not measure:

• Long-term financial success (that takes 5+ years)
• Climate impact (that takes 10+ years)
• Methodology evolution (separate concern)
• Coalition entity success (those have their own trajectories)

The pilot is architectural validation, not commercial validation. Commercial validation comes from sustained deployment over years.