PORTLAND (AP) – A new company has created a symbol for conservation that it hopes will become as well-known as the circular arrow logo that has become the universal symbol for recycling.

BrandConservation has developed the symbol – an intertwined infinity icon and Celtic knot – to educate the public about the purpose and worth of land conservation easements.

Cameron Gale, founder of the eight-month-old company, said the symbol is already in use in Michigan and is being considered by the Maine Audubon Society. “The hope is that over time the public will see the symbol and they’ll know it’s for an easement,” Gale said. “This will not happen in the blink of an eye.”

Signs with the conservation symbol are now in use on 923 acres owned by the Nature Conservancy in Michigan that has an easement owned by another land trust.

Tina Hall, with the Nature Conservancy in Michigan, said the signs are an educational tool, informing recreation users and neighboring landowners about land that is protected.

“It tells them that land is always going to look like that. They know in 100 years, that view is going to stay,” Hall said. Gale said most conservation organizations have some sort of boundary sign, but they do not always explain why land is protected.

He said his signs will provide an explanation on why land posted is protected.

Gale said he plans to introduce the symbol to a national audience next week at the Land Trust Alliance’s national conference for conservation agencies in Sacramento, Calif.

“There is a big misperception overall that conservation easements are a luxury landowners use to lower property taxes,” said Gale, who previously ran an advertisement agency for 10 years. “I believe and the company believes this will lend a lot of credibility to the effort in time.”

AP-ES-10-13-03 0216EDT