Checklist for Considering a Conservation Easement

Identify your short-term and long-term property financial, family and conservation goals and discuss these and the concept of the conservation easement with family members to obtain their input.

Based on your understanding of the IRS criteria determine whether your property has qualifying conservation values and which conservation values you wish to protect.

Discuss the idea of placing conservation easement on your property with an attorney, tax advisor or other trusted advisor who is experienced in conservation easements.

Identify the likely financial and estate planning impacts of placing an easement on the property and compare to current situation. After balancing family, financial and conservation objectives a conservation easement is a good solution.

Identify a number of candidate land trusts that would be interested in accepting your easement and visit their websites and talk to landowners that you know who have worked with them to get a reading on whether they are likely to be a good fit.

Determine the easement provisions that are unique to the land trust candidate. For example, an easement with the Colorado Department of Wildlife will require the ability to access your property at any time.

Meet with several land trust representatives to discuss a potential easement on the property, your objectives with the easement and uses that you would like to have the flexibility to pursue under the easement.

Select the land trust that feels like a good fit and has compatible objectives after meeting with their representatives, talking with other landowners about their experiences and ensuring that the land trust is in good financial condition.

Talk to the title company that has the title records for your property and order an updated title commitment. The title will be given to the appraiser so that he understands the condition of the title and will determine whether you need to hire a consulting geologist to perform a mineral report or need to obtain a subordination from a bank that holds a mortgage on the property.

Hire an appraiser after reviewing the qualifications and costs of several candidate appraisers.

Invite the land trust staff out to the property for a tour and discuss your objectives with the staff. Determine whether you or the land trust will prepare the draft easement. Normally land trusts have a standard agreement that they like to start with. Use this document and modify as is appropriate for your property. With your attorney work through several drafts with the land trust until you are in substantial agreement.

Hire a consulting biologist to prepare the baseline documentation report or if the land trust prepares these, work with the selected land trust to prepare the report.

If required by the land trust have an environmental consultant perform a Phase I review of potential hazardous waste sites such as old dumps, mining areas, storage tanks and other potential sources of pollutants on the property. Remediate these if necessary.

If the property has a mortgage, obtain mortgage subordination from the lender.

Meet with the appraiser to review preliminary values and if these are within your expectations, authorize appraiser to complete appraisal report.

Meet with land trust to review all the documentation and finalize the easement terms. Set a closing either at the land trust office or at the title company and sign and record the conservation easement.

With your attorney, tax advisor or the land trust identify the federal and state tax documents that will need to be filed with your income tax forms in the year that you donate the conservation easement.

Allow the land trust to visit and inspect your property at least once annually and potentially more often is there is a suspected violation.

Interact with the land trust periodically if there are notice and approval provisions in the easement that require the land trust’s approval prior to initiation of certain permitted uses or activities.

Meet with land trust staff if there are unforeseen events that change the conditions on the property or that demand actions or restoration activities that were not contemplated in the easement.