Landowner Resources

A conservation easement is a voluntary deed restriction that landowners place on their property to limit future uses in order to protect the properties’ agricultural operation, habitat, or natural resources. It is a permanent, legal agreement between the landowner and the land trust or other qualified organization that prohibits subdivision and limits development and other intensive uses. Conservation easements are designed to protect the land, while allowing use that do not hurt harm the conservation value of the land, and also provide financial benefits for the landowners.

Types of Conservation Easements:

• Donated: the purchase price of the conservation easement is donated by the landowner for substantial tax benefits.

• Funded: the purchase price of the conservation easement is paid for by one or more funding agencies or organizations. The landowner would still receive tax benefits.

• Bargain Sale: the conservation easement is a combination of both funded and donated conservation easements.

A conservation easement is a permanent deed restriction held by the Northern California Regional Land Trust. The Williamson Act is a 10–20-year agreement with the County to protect agricultural land. NCRLT is not involved in Williamson Act contracts.

All conservation easement types provide tax benefits including a deduction to adjust annual income, and possible, additional tax credits (Northern California Regional Land Trust cannot provide tax advice and we strongly recommend you consult with a tax advisor). Purchased easements and bargain sale easements provide income for the current landowners to use as they wish. Some common uses of the funds pay off debts, transfer wealth to heirs, or invest in property improvements – the uses are landowners’ discretion. Conservation easements also ensure the land will stay as it is for future transfers to the next generation or sales to new operators.

Properties with many or at least some of the following characteristics are good candidates for a conservation easement:

• Working agriculture land with the intent to maintain it as such

• Quality habitat for wildlife including riparian, vernal pools, grassland, oak woodlands, or forested areas.

• Habitat with high biodiversity or rare species.

• Large enough in size to support natural resource conservation

  • 500 acre minimum for rangeland

  • 100 acre minimum for irrigated farmland

  • 50 acre minimum for wild/forested land

• At risk of development or subdivision

• Borders other protected land (public or private)

• Has cultural or historical significance

• Prioritizes protection under specific Regional Planning Documents or Processes

NCRLT wants to hear from all interested landowners and receive standardized information for each property. The landowner application serves is an outreach tool to gain requisite information to assess as Prospective Properties, and to gain consensus across multiple parameters. Limited funding availability and NCRLT staff capacity require careful analysis of projects to move forward when funding alignment occurs. Completing the application with as much information as possible provides a full picture of the conservation values of the property and increases our efficiency.

Staff review all applications submitted, then will prepare a package for NCRLT’s Lands’ Committee analysis. The Committee uses a standardized project priority scoring rubric for an unbiased selection driven by conservation value. Final project approval by NCRLT’s Board of Directors moves high priority properties into the NCRLT Active Projects phase.

At the signing of a conservation easement, the landowner voluntarily gives up some rights that are normally associated with owning a property. These rights have value, and that value is determined by a qualified appraiser. In giving up these rights, the value of the land is also lowered.

A qualified appraiser will perform an analysis of the current market value of the property based on the highest and best uses of the land and the comparable sales of similar properties in the area to generate the value of the property without the encumbrance of a conservation easement. This is known as the “Before” value – i.e. the value before a conservation easement is placed on the property.

Then the appraiser will determine the value of the property with the encumbrance of the conservation easement. They will use comparable sales of similar encumbered properties in the area to generate the value of the property with the encumbrance of the conservation easement. This is known as the “After” value – i.e. the value after the conservation easement is placed on the property.

These values are then put into an equation to calculate the value of the conservation easement.

BEFORE Value – AFTER Value = Value of the Conservation Easement

The value of the conservation easement is based on the extent of the restrictions that a landowner voluntarily relinquishes in the easement and the market value of the property at the time of the appraisal. As a general rule, the average easement value will run from 25% to 50% of the market value of the property without the conservation easement. However, there are many variables to consider when valuing a conservation easement and ranges can span from 20% - 75% in some rare cases.

Each easement is tailored to the land and the landowner. However, typical aspects of a conservation easement deed include limiting the development on the property, prohibiting subdivision, and other intensive uses that would harm the conservation value of the property. The landowner retains ownership of the land, and most rights associated with it, including the right to manage and farm the land, and any other rights of ownership that are not explicitly restricted in the conservation easement deed. Restrictions in the deed are determined on a case-by-case basis to fit the needs and wants of the landowner while also protecting the land’s conservation value.

Existing houses or homesite areas can be placed in a “building envelope” on the property. A building envelope is a designated area within the conservation easement that allows for limited development. In addition to building envelopes for existing houses, building envelopes can be designated for future homesites. All building envelopes are determined on a case-by-case basis, depending on the size of the property and funding source requirements.

There are state and federal grant funds available from a variety of sources including the California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB), Califnoria Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), California Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC), CAL FIRE, and USDA Natural Resource Conservation Services (NRCS). The funds from these and other sources vary from year to year and are extremely competitive so applying for a grant at these sources does not guarantee funding.

NCRLT staff will assess the application and determine if the property is eligible and competitive for grant funding. If it not a good candidate for a grant, then the conservation easement can be donated as NCRLT does not have the funding available to purchase land or easements without grant funding.

An endowment is an invested fund as part of a conservatively-managed portfolio to generate profits to draw from to support perpetual annual stewardship revenue to manage the conservation easement. Long-term CE stewardship incurs real costs for NCRLT including administration, monitoring, coordination, and legal defense.

Yes, the property remains under the landowner’s control and ownership. And no, the conservation easement does not automatically allow public access to your property. If you are interested in allowing public access, that can be determined on a case-by-case basis and may increase the value of the conservation easement.

The timeframe for each project is unique but the average timeframe from submitted your application to a conservation easement in place is typical around 5-6 years.

Securing funding through a grant application takes 1-3 years, and once the funding has been secured, the process of creating a conservation easement takes 2-4 years.