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<br />Conservation Easements - What are Conservation Easements? Definition of Conservation... Page 1 of 1 <br /> <br /> <br />I.. <br /> <br />:PrOtectin~nebjr.e..' P'teSiefV'iBI.life.: <br /> <br /> <br />Conservation Easements <br />What are Conservation Easements? <br /> <br />A conservation easement is a restriction placed on a piece of property to <br />protect its associated resources. <br /> <br />The easement is either voluntarily donated or sold by the landowner and <br />constitutes a legally binding agreement that limits certain types of uses or <br />prevents development from taking place on the land in perpetuity while the land <br />remains in private hands. <br /> <br />Conservation easements protect land for future generations while allowing <br />owners to retain many private property rights and to live on and use their land, at <br />the same time potentially providing them with tax benefits. <br /> <br />In a conservation easement, a landowner voluntarily agrees to sell or donate <br />certain rights associated with his or her property - often the right to subdivide or <br />develop - and a private organization or public agency agrees to hold the right to <br />enforce the landowner's promise not to exercise those rights. In essence, the <br />rights are forfeited and no longer exist. <br /> <br />:Downloads' <br /> <br />Conservation Easements: <br />Conserving land. Water and <br />a Way of life <br />(PDF, 200 KB, new window) <br /> <br />Conservation Easement <br />Workinq Group Report <br />(PDF, 234 KB, new window) <br /> <br />South Carolina Conservation <br />Easements Audit <br />(March 21, 2005: PDF, 241 <br />KB, new window) <br /> <br />Conservation easements <br />in the United States <br /> <br />Learn more about <br />easements across the <br />count <br /> <br />An easement selectively targets only those rights necessary to protect specific <br />conservation values, such as water quality or migration routes, and is individually <br />tailored to meet a landowner's needs. Because the land remains in private ownership, with the remainder of the rights <br />intact, an easement property continues to provide economic benefits for the area in the form of jobs, economic activity <br />and property taxes. <br /> <br />A conservation easement is legally binding, whether the property is sold or passed on to heirs. Because use is <br />permanently restricted, land subject to a conservation easement may be worth less on the open market than <br />comparable unrestricted and developable parcels. Sometimes conservation easements will enable the landowner to <br />qualify for tax benefits in compliance with Internal Revenue Service rules. <br /> <br />For More Information: <br /> <br />· Press Release: Conservancy's New York State Director Appointed to Commission Overseeing Quality of <br />land Conservation <br />Henry Tepper, Director of The Nature Conservancy's New York Chapter, was recently appointed by the Land Trust <br />Alliance to a new commission established to ensure the quality of land conservation. <br /> <br />· Press Release: Outdoor Recreation and Conservation Groups Urge Congress To Preserve Vital <br />Conservation Tax Incentive Tool <br />Two dozen leading national hunting, fishing, outdoor recreation and conservation groups have released a letter to <br />Congress expressing their strong support for conservation tax incentives for conservation easements and <br />highlighting the vital role easements play in virtually all outdoor recreation in the United States. <br /> <br />· Press Release: The Nature Conservancy Releases legislative Proposals to Strengthen Conservation <br />Easements <br />The Nature Conservancy released a set of legislative proposals designed to strengthen the laws and regulations <br />governing conservation easements and help end abuses of this critically important conservation tool. <br /> <br />Copyright @ 2008 The Nature Conservancy <br /> <br />http://www .nature. org/ aboutus/howweworkl conservationmethods/privatelands/ conservati... 1 0/15/2008 <br />