Conservation Easements

Landowners have multiple private property rights that include the right to develop and use the property. By placing restrictions on usage and development, a landowner is voluntarily giving up a portion of those rights. The development rights given up through a conservation easement transaction are considered extinguished. Other private property rights include the right to sell or lease the property, as well as the right to exclude others from accessing the property. Typically, conservation easements do not significantly impact these other rights, and the landowner retains full title to the property and all other rights not transferred under the easement.  The easement is specifically catered to the property owner’s wishes. Thus, current use and management of the land is usually maintained with minimal to no impact on day-to-day activities, including road construction and maintenance, fence building and repair, and all other customary agricultural practices. Indeed, in a well- planned document, the only rights transferred are often rights that the property owner had no intention to exercise, such as the right to build a subdivision or shopping mall. In addition, conservation easements often do not limit development altogether and the property owner is free to designate areas that can be used for future buildings, such as barns or other agricultural structures or home sites. An easement does grant the land trust the ability to enter the land during “monitoring visits,” to ensure the terms of the easement are being upheld and the right to enforce restrictions on the use of the land in accordance with the terms of the conservation easement. Monitoring visits are always coordinated with the landowner and the landowner typically accompanies the land trust staff on the visit.