A. There are those who believe that federal agencies and environmental organizations entice landowners to give up some or ultimately all of their private property rights as land owners using the standard or model conservation easement contract. Certain restrictive terms may be found but not fully understood within the easement contract language. Be sure to work with those organizations that offer agreement formats where you are conveying your land to the organization in order to create a “conservation interest” without giving up all rights of that affected property.
The two main things to consider and watch out for when considering or entering into a conservation easement is that you find and use a land trust that is a purely voluntary partner as opposed to one who comes seeking you out because they have decided that your land contains wetlands or habitat for a species that is being considered for protection. Find a land trust that will offer to become the trustee of sensitive areas dedicated by the land owner for “conservation purposes” as defined by the IRS, leaving all land use control to the landowner. Secondly, avoid land trusts that propose or even insist that you use their contract documents to avoid legal costs involved with the process. Always seek competent legal advice on your own to compare the terms of what is being proposed to your interests in preserving your private property holdings.
