How do conservation
easements work?

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Some of the most common motivations listed by INHF conservation easement donors include "peace of mind" and "family tradition." These families have managed their land in certain ways for years-sometimes for generations-and they have chosen conservation easements as a way to "formalize" their land use goals for current and future generations.

Easements and land use
Consciously or not, landowners make choices every day about how they use their property-whether it's picking mushrooms or planting corn. Some land uses are compatible (like farming and hunting). Others are mutually exclusive (like protecting virgin prairie, planting row crops and building a housing development).

People who donate or sell conservation easements voluntarily restrict certain land uses, usually those they weren't exercising and don't want exercised. Working with the easement holder (like INHF), they develop a conservation easement document to clarify their land use goals.

All INHF easements have a "big picture" goal of land protection, and all must meet state laws defining conservation values of a conservation easement. However, each easement is individually tailored to specific landowner wishes and to the land itself. The easement donor and holder agree on permitted and prohibited land uses that affect all current and future owners. The easement holder agrees to monitor and enforce the easement in perpetuity.

Financial implications for donor
The financial value of a conservation easement is the value of the surrendered rights, as determined by an independent appraiser. A conservation easement may lower the land's resale value-as when someone restricts development near a growing city.

Easement donors may also be eligible for charitable gift deductions on their federal and state income taxes. A conservation easement may also reduce the value of their estate, impacting inheritance taxes.

Financial implications for INHF
Past conservation easement donations to INHF have carried appraised values of thousands or even millions of dollars. Ironically, these large and important gifts immediately enter INHF's ledger as a liability. Why?

When INHF accepts a conservation easement, it acquires a perpetual responsibility to monitor the easement annually and, in the worst-case scenario, defend the conservation easement in court-perhaps decades after the easement was granted.

Consequently, INHF evaluates all potential easements to determine if they protect significant natural resources in a meaningful and enforceable way--and sometimes chooses to decline easement offers. That's why potential conservation easement donors should always discuss the gift with INHF (or any easement holder) during their lifetimes rather than making it a "surprise" bequest.

In order to cover the costs of current and potential responsibilities to its conservation easements, INHF created an Easement Stewardship Fund, supported by contributions from the easement donors or others. The de Neuis and the Iowa River Greenbelt Resource Trust contributed several thousand dollars to the fund for this easement. If you are interested in helping INHF accept new conservation easements with a gift to the Easement Stewardship Fund, contact Anita O'Gara.

"Easement donors like the de Neuis make a huge financial donation to INHF," notes Mark Ackelson, INHF President. "However, the true value of that donation does not go to the organization itself but to the land and to future generations."

For more information, e-mail Cathy Engstrom, Director of Communications, or call (515) 288-1846.