Conservation Easement:
A legal agreement between a private landowner and a nonprofit land-conservation organization such as Countryside Conservancy. The agreement permanently and legally restricts the types of subdivision, development, and activities allowed on a property. It is a powerful tool for preserving the important natural, scenic or recreational values of a property.
Under a conservation easement, the landowner retains ownership of the land and all rights not covered by the easement, while the Conservancy takes on legal responsibility for enforcing the easement restrictions.
A conservation easement is a voluntary initiative on the landowner's part. The easement document itself is tailored through discussions between the landowner and the Conservancy, and is designed to protect the values of the land in a way that reflects the owner's needs and wishes.
The landowner benefits from an easement through the assurance that the important values of the land will be protected permanently, even after it passes into other hands. In certain cases, the landowner can take a Federal income tax deduction for donating a conservation easement.
The Conservancy holds conservation easements on properties in three counties (see Protected Lands for information on our easement properties). Nationwide, over 6 million acres have been protected through voluntary conservation agreements of this type.
