Working Ranch Magazine - Index

Working Ranch Magazine - magazine - Index

PHOTO BY JITKA SANIOVA
WHAT IS A CONSERVATION
EASEMENT?
A conservation easement is a legally
binding agreement between a private
landowner and a qualified land protection
organization (a non-profit land
trust) or a government agency.
Through donation or sale of a conservation
easement, the landowner transfers
specified property rights to the
easement holder, in order to protect
the land’s natural resources and place
certain limitations on its use. Typically,
conservation easements restrict subdivision
and commercial development.
The landowner retains title to the
land but the easement becomes part of
the deed. All future owners of the property
are bound by its terms for as long
as specified in the original contract. In
a majority of cases, that’s “in perpetuity”
meaning the restrictions apply forever.
The entity holding the easement
Many ranchers today claim they have had a good
experience with the land trust people during the deal
making process, but it makes good sense to come to
the table with your own legal and financial counsel.
And don’t agree to anything that is not clearly understood
and acceptable.
64 |WORKING RANCH | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2008
has the right and obligation to make
periodic inspections of the property, to
make sure the terms are honored.
RED FLAGS FOR SOME,
RELIEF FOR OTHERS
The use of conservation easements
for land preservation and natural
resource conservation purposes has
increased steadily over the last 30 years
or so. But the concept of land use
restrictions that might last forever raises
red flags among some property rights
advocates. Opponents of conservation
easements fear landowners may regret
giving up too many rights and reducing
the value of their land. They question
whether it’s fair to saddle future owners
of the land with restrictions on how it
may be used. Many opponents also
mistrust the motives of entities like The
Nature Conservancy, which has been
involved in numerous conservation
easement transactions.
Proponents counter that
entering into conservation
easement transactions is a way
that landowners can exercise
their private property rights
and protect their land through
partnerships with land trusts
that share the same conservation
goals. One such proponent
is Preston Wright, immediate
past president of the Nevada
Cattlemen’s Association and
chairman of Ranch Open Space
of Nevada. The latter group is one of
several agricultural land trusts established
by state cattlemen’s organizations.
Cattlemen sit on the boards that
shepherd these land trusts and their
efforts to help landowners hold land
developers at bay and keep viable ranching
operations in production.
“The people that really oppose conservation
easements seem to think
ranchers aren’t smart enough to use
them without being taken advantage
of,” states Wright. “I find that offensive.
I think we should be intelligent
enough to know what we’re doing,
get legal advice and negotiate agreements
that serve conservation without
excessively limiting a ranch’s agricultural
production potential and the
rancher’s management options.”
Reducing a ranch’s market value may
be the landowner’s objective, Wright
adds, as a way to lessen the burden of
income, real estate or inheritance taxes.
Conservation easements can be tailored
to serve a variety of specific goals.
SWEET DEAL SAVES
THE FAMILY RANCH
According to Neil McQueary, a transaction
involving conservation easements
helped his family hang onto the
operation his grandfather established
in Nevada’s Ruby Valley. McQueary
says his grandparents and parents built
up the cow/calf-yearling outfit, near
Wells, over a period of 40 years. As was
A conservation easement
is a legally binding
agreement between
a private landowner
and a qualified land
protection organization
(a non-profit land trust)
or a government
agency. A goal shared
by many land trusts is
the preservation of private
land-based
resources by preventing
residential and commercial
development on
pristine land like this.