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		Conservation Easements Conservation Easements   Definition   Evolution   Easements at the Conservancy   About Easements   Public Benefits   Private Land   Efficient & Effective   Facts vs. Fiction   Easements in Action   Easements Across Landscapes   Easements Across the U.S.   Easements for Landowners Contact Us

Conservation Easements

Conservation Easements Keep Land in Private Hands, Preserve Traditional Land Uses and Protect Land for Future Generations

Easements protect land for future generations while allowing landowners to retain many private property rights and to live on and use their land as they have traditionally. At the same time, easements offer landowners potential tax benefits if donated, or revenue from the sale of an easement.

Benefits of conservation easements for landowners:

• Land remains privately owned; ownership rights stay in place
• Landowners can live on the land
• Agricultural traditions and land uses maintained
• Land protected from subdivision
• Tax benefits help keep land intact and in the family
• Land protected beyond their lifetimes

  

  Sid Goodloe put a conservation easement on 3,500 acres of his New Mexico ranch to make sure it would remain ranchland beyond his lifetime. “I certainly didn’t want my grandkids to drive by a new subdivision and say, ‘that used to be my granddad’s ranch.’”
  © The Nature Conservancy

• Landowners can fulfill their vision for the future of their land and waters
• Options for children and grandchildren to farm and ranch preserved
• Ecological and scenic values preserved
• Tax savings and sales proceeds can boost agricultural operations
• Easement agreement remains with the property, even if the land is sold
• Easement terms individually tailored to meet landowners’ needs

For More Information:

• Press Release: Conservancy's New York State Director Appointed to Commission Overseeing Quality of Land Conservation
  Henry Tepper, Director of The Nature Conservancy's New York Chapter, was recently appointed by the Land Trust Alliance to a new commission established to ensure the quality of land conservation.
• Press Release: Outdoor Recreation and Conservation Groups Urge Congress To Preserve Vital Conservation Tax Incentive Tool
  Two dozen leading national hunting, fishing, outdoor recreation and conservation groups have released a letter to Congress expressing their strong support for conservation tax incentives for conservation easements and highlighting the vital role easements play in virtually all outdoor recreation in the United States.
• Press Release: The Nature Conservancy Releases Legislative Proposals to Strengthen Conservation Easements
  The Nature Conservancy released a set of legislative proposals designed to strengthen the laws and regulations governing conservation easements and help end abuses of this critically important conservation tool.