 Conservation Easement Overview What is a conservation easement? A conservation easement is a legal, voluntary agreement between a landowner and a private land trust (such as Tug Hill Tomorrow), government agency, or another qualified organization that protects the natural, agricultural, recreational, scenic, or historic features of the property in perpetuity. With a conservation easement on your land, you are assured that your land will be protected forever without giving up ownership of the land. Conservation easements are very flexible and are tailored to each landowner and property. For example, a landowner may want to retain the right to farm or harvest timber, or retain future building rights. These details are worked out between the landowner and the Land Trust.
The easement is filed with the deed, and present and future owners of the property are bound by the restrictions of the easement. Public access is not a requirement of a conservation easement, and in some cases may be contrary to the easement's purpose. Landowner Benefits Landowners who donate conservation easements may be able to take a charitable deduction on their income taxes, provided that the easement is granted in perpetuity (forever), "exclusively for conservation purpose," to a qualified organization such as Tug Hill Tomorrow. The amount of the charitable deduction is based on the value of the easement, which is determined by an appraisal that determines the property's value before and after the easement is in place. The difference between "before" and "after" values equals the value of the easement donation. Additionally, in 2006, New York State passed the Conservation Easement Tax Credit which gives the landowner of a donated easement an annual, refundable income tax credit of 25% of the property taxes paid on land protected by a conservation easement, up to $5000 per year.
Conservation Purposes Include: Preservation of land areas for outdoor recreation by, or the education of, the general public. The protection of relatively natural wildlife habitats and ecosystems. The preservation of open space, including farm and forested land, for scenic enjoyment or pursuant to an adopted governmental conservation policy. The preservation of historically important land areas or buildings. In additional to possible income tax deductions, conservation easements often can reduce estate taxes. Since the easement has reduced the value of the property, the value of the estate will be lower, lowering estate taxes when the property passes to heirs. Sometimes the savings is large enough to help avoid the sale of land to pay estate taxes, which would otherwise be high due to the appreciated value of the land since its earlier purchase. Role of Tug Hill Tomorrow When a landowner donates a conservation easement to Tug Hill Tomorrow, the rights given up are essentially extinguished. They are not transferred to the organization. At this point our work really begins. Tug Hill Tomorrow, as the holder of the easement, takes on the responsibility of completing a yearly monitoring inspection of the property to ensure the terms of the easement are being upheld. It is our job to enforce the terms of the easement now and in the future. This means that the land trust must require anyone who violates the easement terms to amend their actions and restore the property to its previous condition. The land trust assumes this responsibility forever! This becomes an important function, especially after the property is sold or transferred to another landowner. |
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