The Summit Land Conservancy advocates the use of conservation easements held by a land trust when a landowner, a family, or a community wishes to protect the conservation values of a property forever.

Of course we all know that “forever” is a long time, and we can’t really be sure that what we do now will last that long. Still, as people across America have become increasingly concerned about the loss of open space, the use of conservation easements to protect conservation values has been steadily increasing. Land trusts are non-profit organizations that work with willing landowners to place conservation easements on property. These organizations then have the responsibility to make sure that the easements are enforced as the years go by and the property changes hands.

Today, a conservation easement held by a land trust, like the Summit Land Conservancy, is the strongest tool we have for guaranteeing that lands remain protected forever, or at least for a very long time.

Conservation Easement Basics
• The LANDOWNER continues to OWN the land.
• The LANDOWNER decides what restrictions will be placed on the property.
• The conservation easement remains with the property and CANNOT be changed by subsequent owners.
• Conservation easements may be amended or modified slightly in some circumstances.

Conservation Easement Details
A conservation easement is a legally binding agreement entered into voluntarily and mutually between a landowner and a land trust like the Summit Land Conservancy. The easement becomes part of the property and is binding on successive owners. A conservation easement is a legally recognized type of property and must protect, among others, at least one of the following values: agricultural, historic, ecological, recreational, or scenic.

Not all properties will qualify for a conservation easement. For example, a single lot in a subdivision may not possess any of the values listed above, and so the Summit Land Conservancy will be unable to take an easement on that property. Additionally, some properties are too small to maintain conservation values, or surrounded by other uses which would make monitoring and enforcing the terms of the easement too difficult.

Placing a Conservation Easement
The landowner and the Summit Land Conservancy agree that the Conservancy will be a party to the easement forever. In some cases, a landowner donates the easement to the Conservancy. In this case, the landowner may be eligible to take a tax deduction for the value of the donation. In other cases, the Conservancy will pay a landowner for placing an easement on the property. A variety of federal, municipal, and private funding sources may be solicited for funding such a purchase.

In all cases, the landowner continues to own the property. The Conservancy owns a written easement and the responsibility to ensure that the terms of the easement are enforced into the future.

Insuring the future
The Summit Land Conservancy, like other reputable land trusts, takes its responsibility to monitor lands and enforce the terms of the easement very seriously. We establish funding for monitoring each property that we take an easement on, and we have commitments for legal defense, should the need arise. Also, if the Summit Land Conservancy were to go away sometime in the future, the easements would be transferred to another reputable land trust. Of course, we don’t know what the future will bring, but so far, the courts have upheld the terms of conservation easements held by a land trust, and lands have remained protected.

Conservation Easement Benefits for Landowners
When donated to a qualified public charity like the Summit Land Conservancy, conservation easements constitute a charitable donation and consequently have favorable tax consequences for the landowner making the gift. These tax benefits range from income tax deductions to estate tax benefits. In some instances, the benefits are so great that the value of donating a conservation easement can at times match the value of developing the property. However, typically the reason for donating a conservation easement is the landowning family’s love of the land, not the associated tax advantages.

In many parts of the country, ranch and farmland is becoming so expensive due to development pressures that the only way a person can attain a ranch or a farm is to inherit or purchase property whose agricultural uses have been perpetually protected by a conservation easement. Such easements are enabling the continual viability of rural communities.

The value of Conservation Easements
A qualified MAI appraisal determines the difference between the value of land sold on the open market for development and the value of land restricted by a perpetual conservation easement. The difference between these two numbers, the before and after appraisal values, determines the value of the conservation easement and, therefore, the value of the charitable donation, if one is being made.

Easements and Private Property Rights
A conservation easement enhances private property rights as it allows families a choice when faced with development pressures, which could force the sale of the property. The right of a landowner to preserve his/her land is equally as valid as the right to develop it. Again, an easement is a voluntary agreement entered into mutually, which allows a landowner to continue owning the land, living on the land, working the land, passing it on to the next generation or selling it.

Easements and Future Owners
A conservation easement is binding on successive owners. But this is why it is critical that a land trust, like the Summit Land Conservancy, is a party to the easement. If a third party, like a land trust, does NOT hold the easement, then there is no one around in 20 or 30 years to remember that this property has restrictions. Also, this is why a deed restriction or a zoning restriction may only be temporary, as both deed restrictions and zoning regulations may always been removed or changed.

Land trusts, like the Summit Land Conservancy, exist primarily to ensure that conservation easements are monitored and enforced over time. Without the land trust, a future landowner may choose to ignore an easement, and there would be no one around to enforce its terms. Other means of protecting open space, such as development agreements or deed restrictions may be reversed through re-zoning or governmental resolutions. But property that is under an easement that is held by a land trust always has a higher level of legal protection.