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Adverse Possession And Conservation: Expanding Traditional Notions Of Use And Possession, Alexandra B. Klass

University of Colorado Law Review

At common law, very minimal actions were needed to establish the "exclusive possession " necessary to acquire land by adverse possession when the land was "wild" or undeveloped. This minimal burden to adversely possess wild lands, which is still the general rule today, stands in contrast to the much higher standard necessary to adversely possess developed lands. This article explores why the lesser standard for adverse possession of wild lands remains a threat to many of the millions of acres of land in this country that are still undeveloped. This article then proposes that courts modernize the adverse possession doctrine …