In the United States, a conservation easement is a power invested in a qualified private land conservation organization or government to constrain, as to a specified land area, the exercise of rights otherwise held by a landowner so as to achieve certain conservation purposes. It is an interest in real property established by agreement between a landowner and land trust or unit of government. The conservation easement "runs with the land", meaning it is applicable to both present and future owners of the land. The grant of conservation easement, as with any real property interest, is part of the chain of title for the property and is normally recorded in local land records.
Land trusts are nonprofit organizations which own and manage land, and sometimes waters. There are three common types of land trust, distinguished from one another by the ways in which they are legally structured and by the purposes for which they are organized and operated:
The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the American Civil War, the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 through acquisition of battlefield land. The American Battlefield Trust was formerly known as the Civil War Trust. On May 8, 2018, the organization announced the creation of the American Battlefield Trust as the umbrella organization for two divisions, the Civil War Trust and the Revolutionary War Trust, which was formerly known as "Campaign 1776."
Carvins Cove Natural Reserve is a 12,700-acre (51 km2) city park in Botetourt and Roanoke counties, Virginia. Managed by the Western Virginia Water Authority and the City of Roanoke, it is the fifth-largest city park in the United States, and the second-largest city park managed by a municipality. Within the park's boundary is Carvins Cove Reservoir and also the main ridgeline of Brushy Mountain, which rises about 1200 feet above the lake's waterline.
Natural Lands is a non-profit land conservation organization with headquarters in Media, Pennsylvania, dedicated to the management, protection, and conservation of eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey's native forests, fields, steams, and wetlands. The organization owns and manages 44 nature preserves—totaling more than 23,000 acres—located in 13 counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Nineteen of the preserves are open to the public for recreational use; the others have limited visitation due to the presence of sensitive ecosystems or limited facilities.
Open Space Institute (OSI) is a conservation organization that seeks to preserve scenic, natural and historic landscapes for public enjoyment, conserve habitats while sustaining community character, and help protect the environment. OSI uses policy initiatives and ground-level activism to help accomplish its goals.
The Montana Land Reliance (MLR) is a nonprofit land trust established to acquire and manage conservation easements in the State of Montana. Headquartered in Helena, Montana, the organization holds 897 easements on 1,137,062 acres of private property across the state. It is the largest land trust in the State of Montana, the largest state-based land trust in the United States, and is accredited by the Land Trust Alliance.
Chotank Creek Natural Area Preserve is a 1,108-acre (4.48 km2) Natural Area Preserve located in King George County, Virginia. The preserve is situated east of Caledon State Park, and borders the Potomac River to which the preserve's namesake, Chotank Creek, is tributary. It is part of the larger Cedar Grove farm, which is protected by a conservation easement. The preserve was dedicated in 2001 through an agreement with the property's private landowner.
Piedmont Land Conservancy (PLC) is a nonprofit conservation land trust and charitable organization operating in nine northern Piedmont North Carolina counties – Alamance, Caswell, Forsyth, Guilford, Randolph, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin. PLC’s land protection priorities are watersheds, farmland, urban green spaces and natural heritage sites as defined by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The Blue Ridge Land Conservancy (BRLC), formerly known as the Western Virginia Land Trust (WVLT), is a non-profit land trust and conservation organization headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia that seeks to preserve the wilderness and farmlands in the western portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia from excessive commercial development. BRLC's service area contains ten counties: Bedford, Botetourt, Craig, Floyd, Franklin, Montgomery, and Roanoke.
The Virginia Outdoors Foundation is a quasi-state agency formed by the Virginia General Assembly in 1966 "to promote the preservation of open space lands and to encourage private gifts of money, securities, land or other property to preserve the natural, scenic, historic, open-space and recreational areas of the Commonwealth." As of 2017, it owns 3,366 acres (13.62 km2) of public land and holds and manages conservation easements on approximately 801,077 acres of private land.
Conserving Carolina is a non-profit conservation organization working to preserve water and land resources in Western North Carolina. Conserving Carolina was created in July 2017, from a merger of two previously-separate organizations, Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy and Pacolet Area Conservancy. The combined organization maintains a primary office in Hendersonville, NC and a regional office in Columbus, NC.
California Rangeland Trust is a nonprofit organization founded in 1998 by a group of innovative ranchers committed to conservation. The Rangeland Trust is now the largest land trust in California, having conserved nearly 300,000 acres (1,200 km2) of rangeland on 61 ranches across 24 counties.
Joshua's Tract Conservation and Historic Trust, or Joshua's Trust, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) land trust operating in northeast Connecticut. Joshua's Trust was incorporated in 1966 to help conserve property of significant natural or historic interest. As of 2011, the Trust protects more than 4,000 acres, maintains trails that are open to the public, holds educational outreach programs, and publishes the Joshua's Tract Walkbook.
The mission of the Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain is:
to conserve, promote and protect open spaces and green places of ecological, cultural or scenic significance in the counties of the Mississippi Coastal Plain.
The Blue Ridge Conservancy is a non-profit land conservation organization based in Boone, North Carolina that works to preserve working farmland and natural areas in western North Carolina. The organization's focus is on land in Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Mitchell, Wautauga, Wilkes and Yancey counties.
The Land Trust for Tennessee is an American non-profit conservation organization working to protect Tennessee's natural, scenic and historic landscapes and sites. Since 1999, The Land Trust has partnered to conserve more than 119,000 acres (480 km2) of land across 65-plus Tennessee counties.
Pacific Forest Trust is an accredited non-profit conservation land trust that advances forest conservation and stewardship solutions. Its mission is to sustain America’s forests for their public benefits of wood, water, wildlife, and people’s wellbeing, in cooperation with landowners and communities.
The Big Sur Land Trust is a private 501(c)(3) non-profit located in Monterey, California, that has played an instrumental role in preserving land in California's Big Sur and Central Coast regions. The trust was the first to conceive of and use the "conservation buyer" method in 1989 by partnering with government and developers to offer tax benefits as an inducement to sell land at below-market rates. As of 2016, it has protected around 40,000 acres (16,187 ha) through acquisition and resale to government agencies. It has added conservation easements to another 17,000 acres (6,880 ha) and has retained ownership of a number of parcels totaling about 4,500 acres (1,821 ha).
TennGreen Land Conservancy, formerly the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation, is a non-profit land trust, established in 1998 to protect natural and scenic land in Tennessee. It is accredited by the Land Trust Alliance's Land Trust Accreditation Commission. The foundation is supported by membership donations, individual philanthropy, and gifts of land from private landowners.
