Just saw a piece of land for sale with a conservation easment attached. It looked like you would be very limited on what you could do with the land. Why would someone lock there land down like this? Why would anyone want to buy this? Kind of like a home owners association.

Numerous reasons for putting land in a conservation easement, but you can do a lot with the land regardless of the easement. In most cases a conservation easement increases the value of the land and provides the owner with a multitude of tax breaks, even tax credits which pay the landowner. Many folks buy easement land knowing they will get cash back every year like a dividend.

Some people choose to lock it down with a conservation easement so their heirs won't be able to clear cut it and sell it.
All too often, the kids get the land and immediately have dollar signs dancing in their heads.
For someone who wishes to protect family land and keep it from being raped, paved and cut up, the conservation easement might be appealing.

Or you just make a bunch of money when you do the original conservation easement so you don't really care. Plus you know that the land can still be used and managed as hunting property, which sells a bunch of land already anyways.

Also, some of the WRP (Wetland Restoration Program) easements have just in a short amount of time created the most incredible duck and fishing habitat land in the world.

And yes, the landowner gets a big fat check. So what Outback, and hallb said are also correct.

That's nothing you couldn't do in a irrevocable trust.

Yes that is also correct, but the landowner gets a big fat check tax free, and the land can be sold at a higher price later. So it's a choice landowners and families have. Irrevocable trusts don't make any money.

Of course a irrevocable trust can make money , they just don't get a guvment check for NOT doing something or a tax break for NOT doing something. I don't know that it's not possible to have land in a irrevocable trust and the trust in a conservation easement.

It is certainly true to have both.

Now it gets into lawyer ball territory. For some landowners it may not be best to do either.

One of the properties we lease is on WRP. It is black belt prairie creek bottom that was pasture land with a good size creek running the length of the property. WRP paid the landowner a large chunk of $$$, built 2- 5 acre drainable duck ponds, graded and rocked all of the creek crossings. They let us set aside 5% of the acreage where we wanted to for food plots. The whole property was then planted in trees, mostly hardwood, some longleafs pine and a little loblolly. The whole place is now a bedding area and holds a lot of deer, lots of rabbits and turkeys are nesting on it and stay in the 2 acre chufa patch we plant.
Been a sweet deal so far for landowner and us and the habitat gets better every year. He got a lot more upfront than he would have made running cows on it like he'd done for years and all he has to do is figure out what to spend his money on and do a little bush hogging and we do most of that

Damn, wish I could get something similar done on our place.

Caution folks!!! You might want to google a company called Ecovest and a property appraiser named Claud Clark from Baldwin County. DOJ and IRS have a suit filed to where he is accused of defrauding the Treasury Department of 1.8 BILLION dollars. Investors are looking at a 40% tax penalty. Clark has already surrendered his appraiser license and his troubles are just beginning. That's right, 1.8 Billion. Trump can't even get that much funded for the wall. Senator Chuck Grassley from Iowa is investigating presently. A lot of folks from Alabama (wealthy) have already "lawyered up" against Clark to save their azz.

I don't think what you're dealing with there is a conservation easement. Sounds like someone taking full advantage of Guvment programs. CRP, WRP , cost shares for this or that is a whole nother animal.

Landowner does not get a big fat check. They get a tax credit that is based on an appraisal of what the land would be worth if it were to be developed. Future value. The tax credit can be used by the owner or sold to others looking for tax credits.

Yep, you get big tax credits and breaks for not doing something like, developing or mining . You can use the land in any way you want , you just can't do whatever you've agreed not to do. It is usually works out well for folks that are in very high tax situations. They get big tax breaks for not doing something they weren't going to do anyway.

https://www.grassley.senate.gov/new...r-linked-inflated-valuations-and-massive

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/just...vation-easement-tax-scheme-operating-out

https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/article232493852.html

I'm trying to warn folks about conservation easement shams!! This is happening right now.

Yep. But you can’t EVER subdivide it, or develop it in any way. It’s easy to say you never do that, but then a big 4-lane ends up coming through and you’re stuck with $800/acre land that could’ve been worth 10x that.

And you have to ask permission before you cut down trees on your own property. I’m not kidding.

So you're basically sellling your freedom and rights to do what you want to your property. Makes me wonder ehat other righrs people would put on the market. 2nd Amendment?

The dems are buying if people are selling.