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Your easement holder

As noted, a conservation easement is a contract between the easement grantor (landowner) and easement holder (conservation group). Because the easement holder is responsible for ensuring that your easement is honored for perpetuity, it’s important to choose an easement holder that shares your goals and has the professionalism and capacity to fulfill the contractual obligations.

Who are qualified easement holders?

Easements may be held by public or private entities.

Eligible public agencies are listed in Iowa Code Section 457A.1. They include the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, soil and water conservation districts, the historical division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, the State Archaeologist, county conservation boards and cities or city agencies.

Private, nonprofit organizations (such as the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, The Nature Conservancy and many others) are also qualified easement holders. See more examples in the Conservation Partners section.

What is their role?

The easement holder’s main responsibility is ensuring that no present or future owners exercise or permit the uses prohibited by the easement agreement. Different organizations handle this responsibility differently, so look for easement holders who will permanently commit the time and resources to monitor and enforce your easement’s restrictions.

Here’s what you can expect from a partner like the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation:

• During the easement-drafting process, INHF staff completes a baseline inventory of the property, including photos and descriptions of key resources.
• Using the baseline data, INHF staff visits and monitors its easement sites annually to ensure that the use of the land complies with goals and restrictions in the easement agreement. All visits are scheduled in advance and owners are encouraged to join the INHF staff member before, during or after the monitoring process. Many owners enjoy this personal interaction and the chance to learn and share more about their land’s special treasures.
• When the land is sold or transferred, INHF makes a point to establish early and friendly communications with the new owner (who will learn about the easement and its restrictions during the purchase process). INHF and the new owner then conduct annual monitoring visits as before.
• If a violation occurs, INHF works with the owner to discontinue and/or fix the problem. If a major violation occurs that can’t be resolved through dialogue—such as a new owner trying to build condos when the easement forbids development—INHF would use legal means to protect the easement’s integrity.

Talk it over

Even though most easements are donated, responsible conservation partners carefully consider whether or not to accept them—because receiving this “gift” means taking on the perpetual responsibility and expense of monitoring the site for easement compliance and, if necessary, enforcing the easement through legal means—even decades after the gift was made.

Consequently, INHF and other easement holders who take the job seriously have established easement monitoring funds to cover monitoring costs and potential legal costs if the easement needs to be defended in court. Landowners who establish easements may be asked to consider a tax-deductible contribution to such a fund.

Conservation easement basics | Your easement holder
Easement case studies | "Can I get paid for my easement"

reprinted from Landowner’s Options, © 2007, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation