Conserving Carolina will help you determine whether your property has “conservation values” that qualify it for a conservation easement. At your invitation, Conserving Carolina’s Land Protection staff will meet with you on the property to evaluate whether your land is appropriate for a conservation easement.
When you donate a conservation easement to a qualifying non-profit land trust, such as Conserving Carolina, you are generally giving up certain development rights on the property. You will still own the property and retain some rights of ownership which will be specified in the conservation easement. Each conservation easement is different and specifically tailored to the property it restricts.
No. In many cases landowners choose to encumber some portions of their property, but not all of it, with a conservation easement.
In many cases you may reserve the right to limited building on your land in the future; however, any future development must be planned for by specifically permitting it in the conservation easement.
When drafting the conservation easement, Conserving Carolina will ask you to think of any type of renovation or construction that you might desire in the future. You will be asked to estimate the maximum square footage you would anticipate adding during any type of building or renovations.
Conserving Carolina encourages landowners to dedicate serious thought to what they might desire for their property in the future. While some landowners do not wish to add anything in the future, some landowners decide to reserve rights for such things as:
Building sites for future houses, driveways, barns or other structures, fencing, trails, gardens, and other things they may desire on the property in the future.
There are some “standard” reserved rights that Conserving Carolina recommends including in your conservation easement, such as the ability to add wells and “green power” sources and to manage the property to improve forest health or wildlife habitat. Conserving Carolina will work with you to decide which reserved rights fit your intentions for the property.
Please note: If you are a landowner planning to apply for a federal income tax benefit for placing your land under conservation easement:
As a general rule, the more rights you reserve on your property, the lesser the tax benefit you can potentially enjoy. The IRS requires that the conservation easement be held by a qualified organization, such as Conserving Carolina, and that its value be determined by a qualified appraiser. Generally, the tax benefit amounts to the difference between your property’s appraised “highest and best” use before the conservation and its appraised value after placing the conservation easement on the land. Conserving Carolina can supply you with a list of regional certified appraisers.
You must work with your financial advisor to see if you can benefit from the donation of a conservation easement based on your particular tax position. Currently, federal law allows the value of a “qualified conservation contribution” such as a conservation easement to be used as a deduction to offset up to 50% of your adjusted gross income each year over a period of up to 16 years or until the value of the donation is “used up”.
You do not have to decide right away. Please don’t hesitate to contact us for more information as you will be under no obligation. If you decide to pursue a conservation easement our land protection staff will ask you to sign a non-binding agreement letter that lists the conservation values to be protected, the necessary steps for completing the easement, and estimates for the expenses associated with completing the conservation easement.
No, most conservation easements do NOT provide public access to the property. However, if you wish to affirmatively provide for public access to your property, appropriate language can be incorporated into the conservation easement.
Most landowners wish to be able to remove dead, dying and diseased trees as needed over time. The ability to do this and land management activities can be reserved with specific language in your conservation easement, often with a requirement to provide notice to Conserving Carolina when such activities are going to be carried out.
Conserving Carolina is responsible for making sure that the terms you outlined in your conservation easement are met forever. Permitted actions such as the removal of diseased trees need to be noted in our easement files so that when the property is monitored each year, there are no questions about whether the tree removal was permissible.
A conservation easement is the only legal and binding way to ensure that the natural resources of your property will be protected, specifically the way you intend, forever.
Steps to Donating a Conservation Easement with Conserving Carolina
- Meet with Conserving Carolina staff to see if you like the organization’s philosophy and work ethic and to find out what’s involved in creating a conservation easement. When you meet with Conserving Carolina, it is helpful for you to bring a plat or survey of your property if you have one.
- Tell Conserving Carolina what your general intentions are for the property: do you want to leave it the way it is, reserve some development rights, etc.? You do not have to decide the specific details at this time.
- Conserving Carolina’s Land Protection staff will visit your property to document its conservation values. If conservation values are found on the property, the property is eligible for conservation. Completing the project includes the preparation of a “Baseline Documentation Report” of the property which will accompany the final conservation easement. This documents the conservation values and current state of the property through text descriptions, photographs, and maps to provide a baseline for future monitoring.
- Conserving Carolina will provide a preliminary agreement letter for you to sign and return which will describe your conservation goals and the conservation values of the property, outline responsibilities of both you and Conserving Carolina, and provide estimates for any expenses you may be expected to pay. Once we receive a signed letter our staff will begin working on your conservation easement project.
- Using an objective formula, Conserving Carolina will calculate a one-time “stewardship contribution” to fund the expenses of monitoring and legally defending the conservation easement forever. In most cases the landowner provides the necessary stewardship contribution as a tax-deductible donation to the organization. In limited cases Conserving Carolina may be able to obtain a grant to cover the necessary stewardship contribution.
- Conserving Carolina will provide you with a first draft of the conservation easement for you to review and request changes. Take time to work with Conserving Carolina’s easement-drafter and your attorney to define and refine the terms of your conservation easement to reflect your wishes for your property. Generally, the conservation easement document is revised several times before it is final.
- If you have a mortgage on your land, you will need to get a subordination agreement or release of the area to be encumbered by the conservation easement from your mortgage holder. If you wish, Conserving Carolina can work directly with the mortgage holder on the appropriate documents with your permission.
- Once you have approved a final draft of the conservation easement, Conserving Carolina recommends that you line up a qualified appraiser if you wish to claim a tax benefit. Conserving Carolina can provide you with a list of qualified appraisers in the region.
- Because the conservation easement is a legal document which will be attached to your deed, the process requires a closing. Conserving Carolina will record the final document at the register of deeds office, and you will receive a copy of the recorded conservation easement, as well as a copy of the unrecorded baseline documentation report, to keep for your reference.
- Why and when is my land monitored? It is Conserving Carolina’s responsibility to monitor all of our protected properties at least once a year to be sure that the terms of the conservation easement are being upheld. Conserving Carolina always gives notice, in writing and via phone call, to let the landowner know when we plan to visit the property. We also follow up with a letter letting you know once we have completed the visit. You are always also welcome, but not required, to join staff during the monitoring visit.
