What is a Conservation Easement?
The short answer is that conservation easements began as an effort to keep natural or agricultural landscapes open and undeveloped. They are voluntary legal agreements between landowners and a land trust that allow landowners to determine the future of their land by giving up some or all of their development rights. Each conservation easement is individually tailored to the particular landowner.
The landowner still owns the land, and does not have to open the property up to public use. They can still sell the property or pass it down to heirs. The owner can even continue to ranch, farm, harvest a sustainable amount of timber, or even continue to build barns or home sites within reason. The restrictions the landowner places on the land at the time they enter in to the easement stay with the land forever, no matter who owns the land.
Another legal requirement is that the land should meet at least one of the following conservation purposes: protect natural wildlife habitat; preserve open space visible to the public or according to public policy; preserve a historically important land area or structure; or preserve land tfor use by the public for outdoor recreation or education.
The role of the land trust is to take on a public trust responsibility and to enforce the agreement. The land trust has the right to check on the property on a yearly basis, but stay out of the day-to-day affairs of the landowner.
Conservation easements also have a huge tax benefit. The tax benefit is even transferrable to a third party.
Give our agents at New Mexico Mountain Properties a call today to discuss how a conservation easement could make owning property in Taos or a ranch in Angel Fire affordable? !
Whether you are looking for a log home on mountain acreage or a horse property in Taos, a conservation easement may help make your dream of owning valuable Taos real estate or real estate in Angel Fire a reality.
