Conservation Easements (Voluntary Land Protection Agreements)

A conservation easement, also referred to as a land protection agreement, is a voluntary, binding agreement between a landowner and a conservation land trust to permanently protect a property’s natural characteristics by limiting how it can be used.
A conservation easement is the legal document linked to the deed that details the agreement. The land remains private property, but it can only be developed to the extent specified in the easement. The land can be sold with the easement in place or passed down to heirs.
Unlike deed restrictions and covenants, a conservation easement comes with a stewardship commitment from the land trust to annually monitor the land and ensure that the easement’s terms are carried through into perpetuity.

View and download our Landowner’s Conservation Guide for more information (it includes other options, like land donations). Contact NWLT for more details.

View our Conserving Private Lands video series featuring landowners who have placed a conservation easement on their property with NWLT.

“Our vision is hopefully that the future will look more like the past. This is our legacy. This is important. We don’t have any kids, so this is what we have to leave behind for future generations.”– Sue Kartman and Cindy Walters, donors of a Price County conservation easement (pictured right, with NWLT representatives).

“This doesn’t surprise our children at all. They are excited and pleased about the conservation easement. Kids follow their parents, and they have come to understand our land ethic. They have passed that on to the grandkids as well.”– Dr. David Dawson, Rhinelander (now deceased)