What is a conservation easement?

“A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and an eligible organization that restricts the activities that may take place on a property in order to protect the land’s conservation values. Each easement’s restrictions are tailored to the particular property, to the interests of the individual owner, and to the policies and purposes of the easement holder. Also known as conservation servitudes and conservation restrictions, conservation easements are recorded as deed restrictions, and the restrictions apply to all future owners of the land. The right to enforce the restrictions is held by the easement holder. To understand the easement concept, think of owning land as holding a bundle of rights. A landowner may sell or give away the whole bundle of rights, or just one or two of those rights. The rights given away, sold, or otherwise transferred to the easement holder may include, for example, the right to construct buildings, to subdivide the land, to restrict access, or to harvest timber. By selling or donating a conservation easement, a landowner retains some rights and gives up others by deeding them to a qualified holder.

The specific rights a property owner gives up and retains when granting a conservation easement at spelled out in each easement document. The owner and the prospective easement holder first identify the conservation values of the property, and then decide which uses and activities need to be restricted to protect these values. When an easement is signed and recorded, the owner (also called the grantor) conveys the rights to enforce these restrictions to a qualified conservation recipient (also called a holder or grantee), such as a land trust, governmental agency, or historic preservation organization.”

– quoted from The Conservation Easement Handbook, Chapter 1