A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a government agency or qualified conservation organization that restricts specific uses or development on the land. This is a landowner’s way to protect the land for now and in the future. One of the significant benefits of a conservation easement is the protection of wildlife habitats, natural lands, and resources for generations to come.
The seller of a conservation easement is a landowner who desired to restrict development or land use through this option, but still holds on to ownership of the land.
The buyer or recipient of a conservation easement is typically a government conservation program or a private conservation organization. While the landowner seller has specific benefits that make a conservation easement desirable, the buyer or recipient too reaps benefits from this type of transaction.
Five Benefits to Buyers or Recipients of Conservation Easements
• The buyer or recipient can protect more land resources with fewer dollars by buying rights to the land and not the land itself.
• The buyer or recipient obtains land by way of the conservation easement that might otherwise be unavailable (for example, the landowner isn’t selling the land outright, but is interested in a conservation easement).
• The land continues to provide economic activity.
• The land stays on the tax roll.
Conservation easements benefit all involved. The landowner controls the land, the conservation buyer or recipient is assured that the land will not be developed, and often, the public is the greatest benefactor through preserved recreation areas and enjoyment of natural lands.
For more information on conservation easements, land, commercial, industrial properties, and land and resource management, please visit www.saundersrealestate.com or call Dean Saunders at 1-877-518-LAND.
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