Easements
Property owners have
several rights including the right to occupy, use, lease, sell, and develop the
land they own. An "easement" involves the exchange of one or more of
these rights from the landowner to someone who does not own the land. Easements
have been used to provide government agencies, utility companies and extractive
industries with certain property rights. An easement permits the holder rights
to the land for specified purposes while the ownership of the land remains with
the private property owner.
Conservation Easements
Conservation easements are designed to protect natural resources on a specific
plot of land by making certain activities, such as commercial or residential development,
illegal. Easements are usually described in terms of the resource they aim to
protect (i.e. agricultural, forest, historic, or open space easements).
Conservation easements are excellent ways to protect open land from being developed and many nonprofit organizations, such as the Nature Conservancy, Capitol Land Trust and American Farmland Trust, offer such programs.
More Information:
Conservation
Easements (Piedmont Environmental Council)
Conservation Easements (Land Trust of Virginia)
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