Uniform Conservation Easement Act (with 2007 Amendments)

By: National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws
The Act enables durable restrictions and affirmative obligations to be attached to real property to protect natural and historic resources.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Uniform-Conservation-Easement-Act-with-2007-Amendments/2899/

 

Turning Conservation Easement Tax Credits Into Cash - What Should I Expect?

By: Tax Credit Connection, Inc.
Once you have preserved your land with a conservation easement, you might be wondering exactly how you will turn the conservation easement income tax credits you received into cash.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Turning-Conservation-Easement-Tax-Credits-Into-Cash--What-Should-I-Expect/2251/

 

Conservation Easement Reform: As Maine Goes Should the Nation Follow

By: Jeff Pidot
This article explores how the Reform Law has worked and whether it makes sense as a model for other states in response to weaknesses in their enabling laws.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Conservation-Easement-Reform-As-Maine-Goes-Should-the-Nation-Follow/3507/

 

What Do I Do With My Conservation Easement Tax Credits?

By: Lyle Hood
Now that you’ve received your tax credit certificate, you must decide what to do with your credits. You have several choices: Use it to pay your Colorado income tax.
https://www.landcan.org/article/What-Do-I-Do-With-My-Conservation-Easement-Tax-Credits/3567/

 

A step-by-step guide to donating a conservation easement

By: Tax Credit Connection, Inc.
This guide is meant to help you understand the steps that must be completed to conserve your property and the typical costs that are involved.
https://www.landcan.org/article/A-stepbystep-guide-to-donating-a-conservation-easement/3568/

 

Donate a conservation easement: How federal benefits put money in your pocket!

By: Tax Credit Connection, Inc.
In addition to the Colorado credit, landowners can receive an extra reward for conserving their land with a conservation easement. The current rules are not yet permanent, so please keep that in mind as you and your advisors make plans for your taxes.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Donate-a-conservation-easement-How-federal-benefits-put-money-in-your-pocket/3569/

 

Enforcing Perpetual Conservation Easements Against Third-Party Violators

By: Jessica Jay
Among the most daunting challenges the holder of a perpetual conservation easement faces is the enforcement of the easements it holds, for all time, and against all violators.& ...
https://www.landcan.org/article/Enforcing-Perpetual-Conservation-Easements-Against-ThirdParty-Violators/3514/

 

Drafting Conservation Easements

By: Jessica Jay
Drafting the conservation easement influences everything about the protected property after the easement’s grant: it guides the landowner’s use of the protected property, it guides Land Trust’s monitoring and stewardship of the property, and it guides Land Trusts enforcement of the conservation easement against the original landowner and all future landowners, forever.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Drafting-Conservation--Easements/1736/

 

Use of Conservation Easements in Estate and Conservation Planning

By: Jesse J. Richardson and L. Leon Geyer
Under many circumstances, the donation of a conservation easement or sale of such easement for less than fair market value may give income tax, estate tax, and real property tax benefits to the donor or seller.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Use-of-Conservation-Easements-in-Estate-and-Conservation-Planning/3500/

 

Can conservation easements help my heirs save money on estate taxes?

By: Tax Credit Connection, Inc.
By donating a conservation easement, you are eligible not only for an immediate financial reward from state tax credits and federal deductions, but you can also save money on estate taxes for generations to come.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Can-conservation-easements-help-my-heirs-save-money-on-estate-taxes/3566/

 

Conservation Easements

By: Christopher B. Johnson
One tool for estate planners is the conservation easement, by which a landowner voluntarily restricts his or her land from being developed, restricts the amount of development or protects existing features, like a building facade with historic value.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Conservation-Easements/223/

 

Using the Conservation Tax Incentive

By: Land Trust Alliance
This short brochure summarizes the conservation easement tax incentive and provides answers to some frequently asked questions. For the late ...
https://www.landcan.org/article/Using-the-Conservation-Tax-Incentive/3185/

 

Land Conservation in Coastal Alabama

By: Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation
This booklet is for landowners who want to learn more about the options available for conserving their natural lands, including: Donating a ...
https://www.landcan.org/article/Land-Conservation-in-Coastal-Alabama/3801/

 

Perpetuity is Forever, Almost Always: Why It Is Wrong To Promote Amendment and Termination of Perpetual Conservation Easements

By: Ann Taylor Schwing
When a landowner makes a charitable gift of a conservation easement to a nonprofit organization or government entity and elects to seek a federal tax deduction, both landowner and easement holder are subject to federal tax laws and regulations governing the creation, monitoring, amendment, and extinguishment of the easement.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Perpetuity-is-Forever-Almost-Always-Why-It-Is-Wrong-To-Promote-Amendment-and-Termination-of-Perpetual-Conservation-Easements/3511/

 

A Constructive Reformist's Perspective on Voluntary Conservation Easements

By: Nancy McLaughlin
A Constructive Reformist's Perspective on Voluntary Conservation Easements by Nancy A. McLaughlin In an article written especially for the Ecosystem Marketplace, Nancy A.
https://www.landcan.org/article/A-Constructive-Reformists-Perspective-on-Voluntary-Conservation-Easements/162/

 

Easements prove valuable in efforts to protect land

By: Lynne Langley
Practically no one had heard of conservation easements 15 years ago when Charleston native Herbert J. Butler began trying to protect his hundreds of acres of former rice fields.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Easements-prove-valuable-in-efforts-to-protect-land/163/

 

Appraisals and Valuations - How the Gift is Valued

By: Stephen J. Small, Esq.
For purposes of the tax rules, the value of a property is equal to what it would sell for if it were put to the most valuable economic use that is possible under the circumstances.&n ...
https://www.landcan.org/article/Appraisals-and-Valuations--How-the-Gift-is-Valued/201/

 

Developing Consensus on Conservation Easements on Managed Forestlands

By: Laurie A. Wayburn
Over the past few years, there have been panel discussions at the National Land Trust Rally putting forward ideas on guiding principles for conservation easements on working forestlands.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Developing-Consensus-on-Conservation-Easements-on-Managed-Forestlands/175/

 

Test your knowledge of Conservation Purposes

By: Stephen J. Small, Esq.
It is important to emphasize that not every easement restricting the future development of property will meet the tax law requirements. The tax law requires that the gift be for conservation purposes. A ...
https://www.landcan.org/article/Test-your-knowledge-of-Conservation-Purposes/180/

 

Conservation Easements on Land Need to be Thought Through

By: Curtis Seltzer
About 10.6 million privately owned acres -- an area about twice the size of Connecticut -- now carry conservation easements. This land base is growing by more than one million acres annually.
https://www.landcan.org/article/Conservation-Easements-on-Land-Need-to-be-Thought-Through/129/