Bill Iwen took GLC volunteers on a walk of his property.
GLC projects most often partner with willing private landowners, using donated conservation easement agreements, that leave land in private ownership while limiting development and protecting important conservation values.
Our projects have involved rural properties, urban areas, and working lands.
Urban Projects: One of GLC’s main priorities is the protection of our water resources because more attention than ever is paid to keeping drinking water safe and our water systems healthy. Smaller projects in or near urban areas tend to be smaller in scale and most often involve watershed protection through limiting impervious surfaces.
How does a conservation easement work?
A conservation easement is a written legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust (a private, nonprofit conservation organization) or a government agency that permanently limits a property’s uses. The agreement is tailored to protect the land’s resources and meet the shared vision of the landowner and the land trust.
If you are a landowner, you also “own” many rights associated with it. When you donate or sell a conservation easement to a land trust (both can be done through a “Bargain Sale”), you permanently give up some of those rights. For example, you might give up the right to build additional residences, while retaining the right to grow crops on fertile farmland soils. Or an easement designed to protect rare wildlife habitat might prohibit development of any kind. An easement on a farm might allow continued farming and the building of additional agricultural structures, but prohibit subdivision. In some cases, a conservation easement may apply differently to areas of the property, including a reserved right to develop a portion of the property.
Future owners also will be bound by the easement’s terms. The land trust takes on the responsibility and legal right to enforce the easement. If a future owner or someone else violates the easement – perhaps by erecting a building the easement does not allow – the land trust will work to have the violation corrected. For that reason, the land trust usually asks for a donation from the easement donor to help offset the cost of future stewardship expenses.
Rural Projects: Often, the land contains historic or restored wetlands or woodlands, so projects involve vegetative management plans when needed for native plant restorations, wetland projects, and selective timber management.
Benefits
Qualifying for a Federal Income Tax Deduction There are also potential benefits to the donor. If you donate a conservation easement that meets federal tax code requirements, the value of the easement can be treated as a charitable gift and deducted from income tax (to the extent your particular tax situation allows). The value of the easement is the difference between the land’s value with the easement and its value without the easement. Easement values vary greatly; in general, the highest easement values result from very restrictive conservation easements on tracts of developable open space under intense development pressure.
“I’m so pleased to be able to place this working farm into conservation protection. It really is a beautiful property and it is good to know its natural integrity will be preserved.” Jim Kudek
Reducing Estate Taxes If you own land with substantial value, you may not be able to pass it on intact to your heirs. If you place a conservation easement on the land restricting future development, its fair market value will, in most cases, be reduced. See your tax advisor on whether an easement on your land would qualify for an additional estate tax benefit.
Working Lands: Many of our projects include the protection of working farms or farming areas while protecting the natural habitat on the property. Private land stays private. Easements don’t require public access.
Private land stays private. Easements don’t require public access.
