Conservation Easement

A conservation easement limits certain uses on all or a portion of a property for conservation purposes while keeping the property in the landowner’s ownership and control.

Summary

A conservation easement is a power vested in a land trust or government to constrain, as to a specified land area, the exercise of rights otherwise held by a landowner so as to achieve certain conservation purposes. The conservation easement is established by agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government government. A real property interest that is recorded at the county recorder of deeds office, the conservation easement runs with the land, meaning it is applicable to both present and future owners of the land.

The conservation easement agreement is tailored to the particular property and to the goals of the landowner and conservation organization. For example, a conservation easement might allow sustainable forestry but restrict most other uses. Another might prohibit construction and logging within 100 feet of a stream but allow it elsewhere. Another might support farming but forbid development.

Most conservation easements are donated by landowners who wish to protect a beloved place. Under certain circumstances, easements are sold at a bargain price or fair market value. Donations and bargain sales that meet IRS requirements can result in federal tax benefits.

The Pennsylvania Conservation Easement & Commentary, published and maintained by the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association, includes a state-of-the-art easement document as well as more than sixty pages of in-depth guidance for using the model.

Track Record

Thousands of Pennsylvania properties important to people – farms, forestlands, scenic hillsides, historic landscapes, community open space, etc. – have been conserved with conservation easements.

Pennsylvania landowners have partnered with private land trusts to conserve roughly 200,000 acres with conservation easements as of 2009. Another 400,000 acres have been protected with County Agricultural Land Preservation Boards. Numerous parcels have also been conserved with local municipalities. The first conservation easement in Pennsylvania was established in 1966.

Typical End Users

A conservation easement is an agreement entered into by the owner or owners of a piece of land and a holder, which could be a unit of government or a nonprofit organization. (State and federal laws set criteria for organizations to hold conservation easements.

Conservation Impact

Conservation easements can be adapted to protect important natural and cultural resources in a wide variety of situations.
Conservation easements achieve conservation purposes while keeping lands in the ownership and control of landowners.

What You'll Need

A willing landowner and a willing holder (a private land trust or a unit of government).
A model legal document on which to base the conservation easement. The latest edition of the Pennsylvania Conservation Easement & Commentary is available online free-of-charge at conserveland.org as well as at the ConservationTools.org library. (Agricultural conservation easements being purchased with state funds require the use of the state’s boilerplate.)
Landowner and holder should both have guidance of legal counsel.

Obstacles and Challenges

Holders have the responsibility to monitor conservation easements in their care to ensure that the protections provided by the easements are respected in the long-term. This responsibility is typically met by placing money in a stewardship endowment or fund when the easement is signed by landowner and holder.
Few attorneys have significant experience with conservation easements.
Conservation easement agreements, in order to be effective in the long-term, have to be fairly lengthy (as are most real estate documents) – often 20 pages or longer. Shorter documents require shortcuts that can make the easement more difficult or impossible to enforce in the long run.

Contents of Main Description

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Conservation Tools

Experts

Featured Library Items

Acknowledgements

Disclaimer

Copyright