Frequently Asked Questions - Conservation Easements

A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. It allows the landowner to continue to own and use the land and to sell it or pass it on to heirs.

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People execute a conservation easement because they love their land and want to protect it from inappropriate uses, while keeping their private ownership of the property. Landowners voluntarily enter into a conservation agreement usually because they want to make sure that the conservation values of their land (wildlife habitat, scenic views, natural areas, working farms and ranches, etc.) don’t change in the future. Additionally, granting an easement to an organization like the Southern Oregon Land Conservancy may yield income and other tax savings.

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They are very popular. In the 5 years between 2000 and 2005, the amount of land protected by local and state land trusts using easements doubled to 6.2 million acres. Landowners have found that conservation easements can be flexible tools, and yet provide a permanent guarantee that the land’s important conservation features will remain intact. Conservation easements are used to protect all types of land, including coastlines; farm and ranchland; historical or cultural landscapes; scenic views; streams and rivers; trails; wetlands; wildlife areas; and working forests.

Most easements "run with the land," binding the original owner and all subsequent owners to the easement's restrictions. Only gifts of perpetual easements can qualify for income and estate tax benefits. The easement is recorded at the county or town records office so that all future owners and lenders will learn about the restrictions when they obtain title reports.

The most productive land in the west is privately owned. The western U.S. is growing twice as fast as the rest of the nation and the fastest developing parts are rural, not urban areas. The conversion of land from agriculture to residential, commercial and industrial use is taking place at an even faster rate than population growth. If we don’t invest in conserving private lands now, they will be lost forever.

Federally managed lands are primarily in the higher elevations. The private lands are in the valley bottoms, along rivers and streams, where water is plentiful. These are the lands we most often see and use. Natural areas in these areas are quickly disappearing and they may soon be lost forever.

In 1973, Governor Tom McCall made a famous speech to the Oregon Legislature that set off a decade of new environmental protections, including a statewide land use policy and standards for planning and zoning for all cities and counties.

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First, contact us to become acquainted with our organization and the services we  provide. Explore with us the conservation values present on your land. Let us know what you hope to accomplish and what rights you may want to retain. For example, you may already have one home on your property and want to reserve the right to build another home. Our staff will work with you to determine what the best tool for conserving your land is and how the Land Conservancy can assist you.

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A conservation easement restricts uses on the land to protect the significant conservation values of that particular property. Landowners, working together with the Southern Oregon Land Conservancy, can create conservation easements that reflect both the landowner's desires and the need to protect conservation values. Uses that could degrade the unique conservation values present on the land will be restricted, while other uses will be permitted. A conservation easement is written in a collaborative process between the landowner and the Land Conservancy.

The terms of the agreement are binding on ALL future landowners. The agreement runs with the land in perpetuity.

The Southern Oregon Land Conservancy is responsible for enforcing the terms that each easement document spells out. To do this, our conservation staff monitor the property on a regular basis - typically once a year - to ensure that no violations have occurred. We maintain written records of these monitoring visits, which also provide the landowner a chance to keep in touch with the Land Conservancy. In addition, we review management plans and assist the landowner in making management decisions when needed.

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