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Voluntary, Market-Based Conservation Preserves Private Land More Effectively Than Government Regulation or Public Ownership: In general, three means of land protection exist in the United States today. Local land use regulations such as zoning and subdivision control, public ownership and voluntary conservation through conservation easements. Though important, local land use regulations cannot conserve private land as effectively as voluntary measures. First, land use regulation is subject to the prohibition against uncompensated “takings” imposed by the U.S. and most state constitutions and the type of restrictions that conservation easements often require would likely be found unconstitutional if imposed through regulation. Second, government regulation of land is not politically popular.
Finally, land use regulations often face the vagaries of local politics and often are only good until the next local election. Public land ownership faces similar problems. A vast amount of land in the United States, particularly in the west, is already owned by the public. This land represents one of the nation’s most valuable and enduring assets. However, in the west, and throughout much of the rest of the nation, further extending public ownership faces stringent opposition. In addition, public acquisition is extremely costly. It is costly in terms of purchase price, costly in terms of maintenance of the land itself once in public ownership, costly in terms of administration, and it takes land off from local tax rolls. Voluntary, market-based tools like conservation easements avoid all of the pitfalls of the other two methods of land conservation described above: they are private and therefore their terms are up to the landowner, unrestricted by the complex and extensive constitutional and statutory constraints on land use regulation. Conservation easements transcend the tortuous political cycles that prevent consistent conservation by local government. Conservation easements do not involve the costs of public acquisition; and however costly the tax benefits provided to conservation easement donors, this cost will never be more than a fraction of the cost of public acquisition and ownership. Most importantly, conservation easements leave the management of the land up to the owner and, typically, local private conservation organizations.
Conservation Easements Offer Private Landowners a Flexible Tool to Conserve the Things They Love About Their Land Without Sacrificing Their Private Property Rights: Conservation easements are voluntary legal agreements that permanently protect a property’s conservation values. “Conservation values” include the protection of open space (including ranchland), wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation, and scenic land. Conservation easements protect these values by defining how the landowner can use the land. They are essentially “conservation partnerships” between a landowner and land trust. Like the properties they conserve, each conservation easement is unique. Land trusts like the Green River Valley Land Trust work with every landowner to ensure that the conservation easement meets the landowner’s needs and goals and conserves the property’s distinctive character. Conservation easements typically permit and prohibit the following uses of a landowner’s property:
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Continued agricultural use |
Subdivision for residential or commercial activities |
Construction of buildings, fences, water improvements, etc. necessary for agriculture and compatible with conservation objectives |
Construction of non-residential or non-agricultural buildings |
Sale, devise, gifting or other method of transferring land, subject to the terms of the conservation easement |
Nonagricultural commercial activities |
Landowner control of access |
Dumping of non-compostable or toxic waste |
Additional family and employee residences compatible with conservation objectives |
Surface mining |
Wildlife and fisheries protection, restoration and enhancement projects |
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Use of land as collateral for loans |
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Any and all uses not specifically prohibited |
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Private Landowners Can Realize Significant Benefits From Placing Their Land Under Conservation Easement: If you think of property ownership as a bundle of rights—including the right to harvest crops, construct buildings, limit access, or subdivide—conservation easements provide a way for landowners to exchange certain rights for cash or tax benefits. Federal tax law treats conservation easement donations as charitable gifts and allows donors to deduct the easement’s value on their federal income tax returns, subject to certain percentage limitations. The restrictions imposed by a conservation easement also reduce the value of the property in the donor’s estate, resulting in estate tax savings. In addition, the executor of a decedent’s estate can elect to exclude an additional 40 percent of the value of the land subject to a qualified conservation easement up to a maximum of $500,000. These potential estate tax savings offer a powerful planning tool to help keep ranches in the family. Landowners can also sell conservation easements to land trusts and other qualified organizations. Landowners can use the proceeds from these sales to improve the viability of their operations, generate investment income or provide for their families through life insurance benefits. These landowners also become eligible for the estate tax benefits described above.
Communities Benefit From Private Land Conservation: Private land preserved with conservation easements provide a way for communities to preserve their agricultural heritage, sustain working ranches, ensure their fiscal integrity, support local businesses, and maintain their quality of life. Public benefits of conservation easements:
- Protect water quality
- Conserve wildlife habitat
- Preserve farmland, ranchland, timberland
- Maintain character of rural communities
- Buffer public lands
- Maintain landscapes for tourism
- Require less in public services, generate more in local revenues
- Keep land in private hands and on the tax rolls
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