Conservation Easements

What is a Conservation Easement?

A conservation easement is a voluntary agreement made between a landowner and a qualified conservation organization such as the Montezuma Land Conservancy. The easement protects land with conservation values that are significant to the public—for example: agricultural land, significant wildlife and/or plant habitat, and scenic open space.

Conservation easements are extremely flexible and tailored to the individual property and the landowner’s wishes for the land. An easement can protect any or all of conservation values that the landowner chooses: farm and ranch land, water rights, wildlife or plant habitat, and scenic views.

In return, the landowner gets the satisfaction of having protected the land for future generations —and sometimes receives cash or important tax benefits as well.

Why Conserve Open Space?

Whether a landowner is a rancher, farmer, or simply living on the property, that landowner has likely invested a great deal of time, sweat, and money into the stewardship and health of the land. By conserving a property with a conservation easement, a landowner can preserve their vision for the land and also create a lasting legacy for the community and their family. Landowners who decide to conserve their property ensure that future generations will benefit from the foresight of a vision put into action today. Such a vision also ensures future generations can enjoy the same rural character and natural resources we have today.