An Introduction to Conservation Easements in the United States: A Simple Concept and a Complicated Mosaic of Law

82 Pages Posted: 25 Aug 2015 Last revised: 22 Sep 2015

See all articles by Federico Cheever

Federico Cheever

University of Denver Sturm College of Law (deceased)

Nancy A. McLaughlin

University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law

Date Written: May 1, 2015

Abstract

The idea of a conservation easement – restrictions on the development and use of land designed to protect the land’s conservation or historic values – can be relatively easily understood. More significant and more challenging is the complex body of state and federal laws that shapes the creation, funding, tax treatment, enforcement, modification, and termination of conservation easements.

The explosion in the number of conservation easements over the past four decades has made them one of the most popular land protection mechanisms in the United States. The National Conservation Easement Database estimates that the total number of acres encumbered by conservation easements exceeds 40 million.

Because conservation easements are both novel and ubiquitous, understanding how they actual work is essential for practicing lawyers, policymakers, land trust professionals, and students of conservation. This article provides a “quick tour” through some of the most important aspects of the developing mosaic of conservation easement law. It gives the reader a sense of the complex inter-jurisdictional dynamics that shape conservation transactions and disputes about conservation easements.

Professors of property law, environmental law, tax law, and environmental studies who wish to cover conservation easements in the context of a more general course can use the article to provide their students with a broad but comprehensive overview of the relevant legal and policy issues.

Keywords: conservation easement, 170(h), charitable deduction, uniform conservation easement act, conservation easement enabling statute

JEL Classification: H20, K11, K34, L31, Q24, Q30

Suggested Citation

Cheever, Federico and McLaughlin, Nancy A., An Introduction to Conservation Easements in the United States: A Simple Concept and a Complicated Mosaic of Law (May 1, 2015). 1 Journal of Law, Property, and Society 107 (2015), U Denver Legal Studies Research Paper No. 15-45, University of Utah College of Law Research Paper No. 130, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2650024

Federico Cheever

University of Denver Sturm College of Law (deceased) ( email )

Nancy A. McLaughlin (Contact Author)

University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law ( email )

332 South 1400 East, Rm 101
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0730
United States
801-581-5944 (Phone)
801-581-6897 (Fax)

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