Conservation Easements
A conservation easement is a deed restriction landowners voluntarily place on their property to limit land to specific uses and protect it from development. Agricultural conservation easements are designed to protect farmland. Conservation easements can also be used to protect resources such as productive agricultural land, ground and surface water, wildlife habitat, historic sites, or scenic views. Conservation easements are flexible documents tailored to each property and the needs of individual landowners. They may cover an entire parcel or portions of a property. In a conservation easement, the landowner (grantor) authorizes a qualified conservation organization or public agency (grantee) to monitor and enforce the restrictions set forth in the agreement. Landowners granting an easement retain title to their property and the right to use their land for agricultural purposes, and can still restrict public access. Landowners can also use the land as collateral for a loan or sell their property and continue to be eligible for any state or federal farm programs that they were eligible for before entering into the conservation agreement. Most agricultural conservation easements are permanent. (Less-than-permanent or “term” easements impose restrictions for a specified number of years.) Regardless of the duration of the easement, the agreement is legally binding on future landowners for the agreed-upon time period. The value of an agricultural conservation easement is generally the fair market value of the property minus its restricted value, as determined by a qualified appraiser. A landowner can donate an easement for conservation purposes, thus providing significant income and estate tax deductions if the donation meets the criteria established by the Internal Revenue service and helping to avoid capital gains taxes that would have resulted from selling the entire property. Through a Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) (discussed later in this section), a landowner can also sell the conservation easement to a land trust or a local government.
