Appendices

I. Content of a Conservation Easement

Parties Grantor (landowner) and Grantee (easement holder)

Date of Conveyance

Recitals ("whereas" clauses)
   Title representation (assures that grantor owns the property)
 Conservation values of the property
 Legal description of property
 Documentation of "pre-easement characteristics" of property
 Continuation of existing uses
 Conveyance of rights to protect conservation values to grantee
 Qualifications of grantee to hold the easement

Grant (transfer of property interest)
 Consideration: nominal dollar amount or gift language
 Citation of statutory authority
 Duration: perpetual

Provisions
1. Purpose: only uses consistent with protection of conservation values are permitted
2. Ingress and Egress: access to property by grantee
3. Prohibited Land Uses
The three methods for defining prohibited land use are:
Exclusive: any land use not expressly prohibited is permitted
Unreserved: any land use not expressly reserved is prohibited
Inconsistent: any land use inconsistent with the easements' purpose is prohibited
4. Reserved Rights (the landowner's rights which are reserved for possible future use)
5. Access (public is typically denied access)
6. Amendment (if mutually agreeable between easement holder and landowner at the time, certain provisions of easement may be modified in the future as long as original intent is achieved)
7. Assignment (grantee retains right to transfer easement to another eligible holder)
8. Subordination (if property is mortgaged, the mortgage holder must guarantee that it will uphold easement provisions in the event of foreclosure)
9. Subsequent transfers (easement "runs with the land," i.e., provisions bind all future landowners in perpetuity, even if the property is sold to another)
10. Recordation (easement documents recorded in county in which the property is located)
11. Successors (easement "runs with the land," i.e., provisions bind all future landowners in perpetuity, even if property is inherited by another)

II. Books and References

Available from Preserving Family Lands, P.O. Box 2242, Boston, Massachusetts 02107, Ph: (617) 357-1644:

• Preserving Family Lands, Essential Tax Strategies for the Landowner by Stephen Small
  
• Preserving Family Lands, Book II, More Planning Strategies For The Future by Stephen Small

  Available from the Land Trust Alliance, 1319 F Street NW, Suite 501, Washington D.C. 20004-1106, Ph: (202) 638-4725:

• The Federal Tax Law of Conservation Easements by Stephen Small
  
• The Conservation Easement Handbook (with model conservation easement and historic preservation easement) by Janet Diehl and Thomas Bartlett
  
• Tax Economics of Charitable Giving, prepared and published by Arthur Anderson & Co.

  Available from The Back Forty, Hasting College of Law, 200 McAllister Street, San Francisco, California 94102, Ph: (415) 565-4857:

• The Back Forty, a bi-monthly newsletter that focus on legal issues in land conservation
  
• The Back Forty Anthology: Selected Articles from the Newsletter of Land Conservation Law

  Conservation Easements
  What Is a Conservation Easement?
  Why Use a Conservation Easement?
  What is the Uniform Conservation Easement Act?
  Frequently Asked Questions about Conservation Easements
  Financial Benefits of Conservation Easements
  Federal Income Tax Deduction
  Estate Taxes
  Local Property Taxes
  Land Trusts
  What Next?
  Appendices

  Photos by Michael Kelly