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Establishing a Conservation Easement -
A conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement between a
landowner and a land trust, or conservancy, which contains
permanent restrictions on the use or development of land in
order to protect clearly defined conservation values, such as
wildlife habitat, scenic or open space, prime farmland or
historical significance. It limits but does not necessarily
prohibit all development. For example, there may be a provision
for some future land splits to allow home sites for family
members.
There may be tax benefits. Donation or sale of an easement at
less than fair market value to a qualified conservancy may be
treated as a charitable gift of the development rights, and may
be deductible on the landowner’s federal income tax return.
There may also be estate tax benefits or property tax benefits
based on the reduction in the value of the land as a result of
the permanent restriction on future development.
A conservation easement “runs with the land.” It is not
eliminated by a change in ownership. It is filed with the
Register of Deeds and its existence will show up any time a
title company, lender or individual does a title search of the
property. Along with this permanence comes a responsibility for
the conservancy, the easement holder, to monitor the land to
ensure the terms are being met, and to protect against any
violations. This creates a burden on the conservancy to ensure
the time and expense to conduct the monitoring and the funds
required to defend the easement in any necessary court action
are permanently available, but this is both our promise to the
grantor and our legal responsibility as the grantee.
It is also important to know what a conservation easement does
not do. It does not, by its nature, allow public access. The
landowner still controls who does and does not have access to
his/her land. It does not prevent the transfer of ownership. A
landowner can sell or lease the land if he wishes, but the terms
of the easement remain in effect. Finally, an easement does not
restrict any property rights that don’t negatively impact the
conservation values of the easement. For example, a landowner
can lease hunting rights or farming rights or otherwise continue
to do whatever he/she wishes on the land, subject to the terms
of the easement.
If you would like more detailed information
about what a conservation easement contains we can provide you
with a copy of the “Michigan Model Easement,” that serves as a
template for any easement we create. To get a copy of the
Michigan Model, or for answers to any questions you may have
about easements or our preserves, call the office at (989)
644-5045, or email Stan Lilley at
cwc@cmsinter.net .
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