What is a Conservation Easement? "A Conservation Easement is a legal document that is voluntarily imposed on a portion or the entirety of a property to preserve the conservation value of the land for a variety of reasons. It is recorded as a deed restriction and it "runs with the land in perpetuity."
Quote from:Conservation Easements, URWA Why donate part of your land as a conservation easement? With a conservation easement a land owner gives up certain rights to his or her property but still retains the title while making sure that the land is used in a way that is environmentally compliant with the easement guidelines. This means that almost no development can occur on this land. However, you as the deed holder still reserve the right to construct certain types of structures, grow crops, raise livestock etc… on the easement as you see fit. There is also the matter of benefits, in the form of income/capital gains/estate/local property tax reductions.
When donating land as part of a conservation easement one must keep in mind that an easement, by nature, is as restrictive or as non-restrictive as you want it to be. For example, under a certain type of easement you may still retain the rights to grow crops or raise cattle, but may give up the rights to develop any structures or buildings.
Here at Landitude, Inc. we offer conservation easement consulting, ecological baseline assessments and mapping for private landowners, real estate investment firms, and land trusts.
To learn more about conservation easements and other types of land donations follow the links below.
www.valleylandfund.com
www.lta.org/conserve/options.htm | 
