How Bear River Land Conservancy Saves Land
Land trusts save land in two basic ways: 1) conservation easements and 2) direct ownership. The vast majority of our projects are conservation easements, but we do own the Mendon Meadow Preserve.
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A conservation easement is:
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A voluntary, willing-buyer, willing-seller real estate transaction where development rights are either purchased or donated to the land trust.
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The land trust holds these development rights permanently, regardless of who owns the land.
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The land trust cannot use the development rights to the property, ever.
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Since the property cannot be developed, it is conserved largely in the state it was in at the time the easement was placed.​
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Conservation Easements are Flexible
Every easement is crafted to meet the needs of the landowner and to protect certain public benefits. Public benefits often include the protection of open space, wildlife habitat, preservation of agriculture, preservation of historic structures and sites, and when appropriate, public access.​
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Conservation Easements are Permanent
Conservation easements are the best tool available to landowners who wish to conserve their land beyond their own lifetimes, even if the property is gifted to descendants or sold. Future owners of the property must adhere to the terms of the conservation easement because the rights to develop the property were permanently transferred to the land trust. Ultimately, there are even safeguards in federal law which ensure easements will continue to protect the conservation values of the property forever.
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Conservation Easements can help Farmers and Ranchers
Conservation easements are a transfer of development rights. These rights can either be donated to the land trust or purchased by the land trust. When conservation easements are purchased there can be monetary benefits for landowners.
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There can be tax advantages for landowners who choose to donate the land's development rights when placing a conservation easement. BRLC cannot legally provide specific financial or tax advice, but many landowners who choose to place easements on their land have benefitted from these opportunities. If you are interested in this option, please consult with a tax advisor familiar with conservation easement valuation.
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Conservation Easements Create Legacy
The land that BRLC protects is becoming increasingly precious as development pressure increases. The lands we conserve are unique and special, preserving our cultural history, our scenic views, our working lands, and our critical habitat. Our work and the work of the private landowners who we are honored to call our partners will enrich the lives of our children, grandchildren, and generations to come.
The Conservation Easement Process
BRLC works year-round to increase community awareness, ensuring landowners interested in protecting their properties learn about our services. We’ve earned a trusted reputation, giving landowners the confidence to rely on us as we expertly guide them through the complex land protection process.
Step 1: Potential Project
Landowners reach out to us and express a desire to protect their property. We meet with them to understand their goals and tour their property. We ask about the property's history, discuss current land use, and take photos. We currently have a backlog of leads which our staff does not have the time to pursue.
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This step usually takes 1-6 months.
Step 2: Initial Review
After our site visit, our Land Protection Committee reviews the potential project. When we have multiple potential projects we rank them based on what we are trying to protect:
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Open space (farmland, forest, wetlands, rangelands)
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Wildlife Habitat
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Public Recreation
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Historic importance
We estimate the cost of the project and gauge the landowner’s interest in tax incentives instead of money for their property’s development rights. Other factors like landowner goals, acreage and family support are also important. We review many worthy prospective projects which do not make it past this stage because we do not have enough staff and funding capacity to pursue them all. We wish we could.
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This step usually takes 2 - 6 months.
Step 3: Project Implementation
Once the Land Protection Committee and the Board have given initial approval we start step 3. We work on steps 3a, 3b, and 3c all at the same time, which usually takes our staff anywhere from six months to three or more years. Our staff spends a considerable amount of time coordinating meetings and communicating with landowners, multiple funders, government agencies, legal experts, surveyors, geologists, and environmental experts who all contribute to each project. Keeping everyone on the same page throughout the project’s multi-year timeline is a monumental task.
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These tasks usually take anywhere from 6 months to 3 years.
Step 3A: Due Diligence & Documentation
We review the legal history and title to the property to make sure there are not any problems like liens or other easements which could impede our process. We carefully document the current condition of the land, which becomes important in step 6. We hire experts to provide us with technical reports on the minerals, environmental conditions, and legal boundaries of the property.
Step 3B: Conservation Easement
A “conservation easement” is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust like BRLC that permanently limits certain rights and uses of the land. As a nonprofit focused on land conservation, we sometimes purchase these rights to protect the public benefits of the property, and we are legally prohibited from using or selling them. Working with legal experts, we create perpetual conservation easement deeds, ensuring the land is protected forever.
Step 3B: Project Funding
After we know which rights would best protect the property (and which rights the landowner is willing to sell), we hire an appraiser to determine the value of those rights. It is then up to our staff and project funders to raise sufficient funding to fairly compensate the landowner. Landowners usually donate part of the project value (and may receive a tax deduction) which reduces the total amount we need to raise. In an effort to protect open space, wildlife habitat, and agricultural lands, we are often competing with land developers who can offer significantly more money than we can, and on a much shorter timeline.
Step 4: Final Review
Our board and each funding partner has the opportunity to review relevant project documentation and ask questions as part of their final approval decision. The more partners we have on a project, the more time it takes to complete this detailed process.
This step usually takes 3 - 6 months.
Step 5: Closing
Once BRLC, our funding partners, and the landowner have all agreed on the final details, we move to closing. This is when the actual sale or donation of property rights and restrictions occurs. Money often changes hands and legal paperwork is signed at a title company. The easement documents are filed with the county recorder so that they will always be on record when the property is eventually sold or inherited.
This step usually takes 1 - 2 months.
Step 6: Ongoing Monitoring and Protection
BRLC becomes the permanent owner and steward of the specified property rights and restrictions named in the conservation easement deed. It becomes our duty to visit the property annually to ensure that the public values which we set out to protect are in fact being protected. If the property is ever developed, subdivided, or modified in a way that threatens the public values for which the easement was created, we have legal representation and recourse to restore those values.