Despite the fact that conservation easements have been widely used as an effective land protection tool for decades, I still encounter a surprisingly large number of landowners and land buyers who are misinformed about the most basic aspects of the conservation easement process. Most of these people are smart, sophisticated, and highly knowledgeable about a wide range of land-related issues, but for some reason, conservation easements are a constant source of confusion.
Below, I list out a few of the most common misinformed objections that I hear time and time again, and as you’ll see, all of these objections are based on an incomplete understanding of exactly how conservation easements work. But first, to make sure everyone is on the same page, let’s define exactly what a conservation easement is. The Land Trust Alliance defines a conservation easement as “a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. Landowners retain many of their rights, including the right to own and use the land, sell it and pass it on to their heirs.”
Read the entire article: https://www.landthink.com/conservation-easements-six-common-misconceptions/
