What is a land trust?
A land trust is a nonprofit organization that promotes and utilizes a variety of tools to help citizens and communities accomplish their land protection objectives. Click here for more information.
What are my options?
I want to preserve my land. How can I do that and what are my options? Are there any financial benefits to preserving land? Click here for more information.
Why should I grant a conservation easement to a land trust?
People execute a conservation easement because they love their open space land, and want to protect their land from inappropriate development while keeping their private ownership of the property. Granting an easement to a conservation organization that qualifies under the Internal Revenue Code as a “public charity” – which nearly all land trusts do – can yield income tax savings. Moreover, land trusts, some of which are more than 100 years old, have the expertise and experience to work with landowners and ensure that the land will remain as permanent open space. Click here for more information on the conservation easements.
Are conservation easements popular?
They are very popular. In the 5 years between 2000 and 2005, the amount of land protected by local and state land trusts using easements doubled to 6.2 million acres. Landowners have found that conservation easements can be flexible tools, and yet provide a permanent guarantee that the land won’t ever be developed. Conservation easements are used to protect all types of land, including coastlines; farm and ranch land; historical or cultural landscapes; scenic views; streams and rivers; trails; wetlands; wildlife areas; and working forests.
How can a conservation easement be tailored to my needs and wishes?
An easement restricts development to the degree that is necessary to protect the significant conservation values of that particular property. Sometimes this totally prohibits construction, and sometimes it doesn’t. Landowners and land trusts, working together, can write conservation easements that reflect both the landowner’s desires and the need to protect conservation values. Even the most restrictive easements typically permit landowners to continue such traditional uses of the land as farming and ranching. Click here for more information on the conservation easements.
What steps do I take to write a conservation easement?
First, contact a land trust in your community to become acquainted with the organization and the services they can provide. Explore with them the conservation values you want to protect on the land. Discuss with the land trust what you want to accomplish, and what development rights you may want to retain. For example, you may already have one home on your property and want to preserve the right to build another home. That is one provision that must be specifically written into an easement agreement. Always consult with other family members regarding an easement, and remember that you should consult with your own attorney or financial advisor regarding such a substantial decision. Click here for more information on the conservation easements.
How long does a conservation easement last?
Most easements “run with the land,” binding the original owner and all subsequent owners to the easement’s restrictions. Only gifts of perpetual easements can qualify for income and estate tax benefits. The easement is recorded at the county or town records office so that all future owners and lenders will learn about the restrictions when they obtain title reports. Click here for more information on the conservation easements.
What are a land trust’s responsibilities regarding conservation easements?
The land trust is responsible for enforcing the restrictions that the easement document spells out. Therefore, the land trust monitors the property on a regular basis — typically once a year – to determine that the property remains in the condition prescribed by the easement document. The land trust maintains written records of these monitoring visits, which also provide the landowner a chance to keep in touch with the land trust. Many land trusts establish endowments to provide for long-term stewardship of the easements they hold.
How can I be sure that once I protect my land it will remain protected forever?
With each property it preserves, HWLC accepts responsibility to protect that land and its conservation values into the future. Click here for more information on the stewardship program.
What is an appraisal and will I need one?
The Internal Revenue Service has very specific requirements for appraisals of conservation easements where a landowner is claiming a charitable contribution deduction for the value of the easement. Click here for more information.