The Little Tennessee Land Trust Conservation Easements

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The Land Trust for the
Little Tennessee
88 East Main Street
P. O. Box 1148
Franklin, NC 28744-1148
Phone: 828-524-2711
Fax: 828-524-4741
Email: LTLT

Conservation Easements

Middle Creek easement in winter

•	A conservation easement is a voluntary, legal agreement that landowners make to define the type and amount of development that can occur on their land, while protecting the underlying conservation values of the land.
•	The landowner conveys the easement to a qualified organization, like the LTLT, which assumes a long-term stewardship responsibility of the land, guaranteeing the terms of the easement are respected.
•	The landowner retains ownership of the property, with the rights to sell the land or pass it on to his or her heirs.
•	A conservation easement usually can allow for a limited number of home sites and for continued farming and forest management, with Best Management Practices applied.
•	Donation of a conservation easement can reduce the landowner’s income taxes, both at the federal and state level. Also, a conservation easement might lower or eliminate federal estate taxes and state inheritance taxes after the death of the landowner.

In a conservation easement:

•	the landowner, who grants the easement, defines the use he or she wants to see continue on the land, and,
•	a qualified conservation organization or public agency that the landowner selects receives the easement and is granted the right to periodically monitor the property and to enforce the covenants of the easement if this ever becomes necessary.

An owner's use and enjoyment of the land is usually not changed by an easement. Most owners continue to use their property just as before. However, with the granting of the easement, the future protection of the property is no longer left to chance.

An easement can allow for or limit whatever activities the property owner deems important as long as the underlying conservation values of the property are protected. If the landowner so decides, an easement agreement may prohibit development of the land entirely, preserving it exclusively for forestry, agricultural or wildlife habitat use. Alternatively an easement may allow for an appropriate amount of development that would not seriously damage the conservation values of the property (for example, some limited residential development could be allowed on a working farm or forest). Unless explicitly expressed, an easement does not give the public right of access to the land.

The conservation easement offers owners an opportunity to protect their property from inappropriate future development while preserving their rights to live on it, use it, and sell it or pass it on to their heirs.

An easement is a legal agreement that landowners voluntarily make defining the type and amount of development that can ever occur on their land. Easements are written in deed form, are usually permanent, and are recorded with the county register of deeds. They run with the title of the land, that is, present and future owners of the property will be required to respect the easement's terms.

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6 Basic Steps

A typical conservation easement might:

•	specify that the land may continue to be used in the future for farming, timber management and hunting in conformance with "best management" standards and mutually agreeable plans
•	define the maximum number of residences which may be located on the property
•	protect against excessive commercial development and subdivision
•	limit location on the property of specific structures such as motels, apartment buildings, or billboards or specific activities such as mining or dumping.

Rare high-elevation bog
on Little Ellijay

If in the future the easement is violated - for example if an effort is made to subdivide the land to build more houses than the easement allows - the easement holder will work to have the violation corrected.

There can be certain tax advantages to placing a conservation easement on one's property. By minimizing the development potential of a piece of land, a conservation easement can have the affect of lowering the value of a landowner's taxable estate. For families who own large tracts of land of significant value, this might lower or eliminate the federal estate taxes and North Carolina inheritance taxes due after the death of a landowner. The value of a donated conservation easement may also serve as a significant income tax deduction, both at the federal and state level.

Easements will not remove land from local property tax rolls. However, if a permanent easement limits much of the future development potential on the property, the land will usually by assessed at the lowest level for the area.

Conservation easements are often granted to land trusts. A land trust is a private, non-profit conservation organization devoted to protecting natural, recreational, agricultural and open lands of greatest value to local communities. In Macon and surrounding counties The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee works with interested land owners to provide support to those who seek to establish a long term conservation plan for their property.

If you are interested in more information about conserving your land, please contact our office at 828-524-2711.

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Click here to read about local examples of conservation easements.



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