People who love their land often look to land trusts to help them protect it forever.

The Aquidneck Land Trust's conservation tool of choice is the conservation easement.

A conservation easement is a mutually created legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust or other qualified land conservation agency that permanently protects the land's conservation values by limiting uses of the land. It allows landowners to continue to own and use their land and is also an essential estate-planning tool to pass land to the next generation. By removing the land's development potential, the easement can lower its market value, which in turn can lower an estate tax and/or property taxes. Whether the easement is donated during life or by bequest, it can make a critical difference in the heirs' ability to maintain the parcel.

Landowners execute a conservation easement because they love their special land, and want to protect it from inappropriate development while retaining private ownership of the property. Granting an easement to the Aquidneck Land Trust can yield income, property tax, and estate tax savings. Moreover, land trusts, some of which are more than 100 years old, have the expertise and experience to work with landowners and ensure that the land will remain as permanent open space.

Conservation easements offer great flexibility and can be tailored to meet the individual needs of a landowner. For example, an easement on property containing rare wildlife habitat might prohibit any development while an easement on a farm might allow continued farming and the building of a few additional agricultural structures. An easement does not have to apply to an entire parcel. It may concern just a portion and it does not require public access. Future owners will be bound by the easement's terms and the land trust is responsible for making sure the easement's terms are followed carefully.

Conservation easements are very popular. In the decade between 1990 and 2000, the amount of land protected by local and regional land trusts by using easements increased more than fivefold to 2.6 million acres. Landowners have found that conservation easements can be flexible tools, and yet provide a permanent guarantee that the land won't ever be developed. Conservation easements are used to protect all types of land, including coastlines, farms, historic or cultural landscapes, scenic views, wetlands, streams and rivers, trails, wildlife habitats, and forests.

I'm very interested in conserving my land. What do I do now?

The first step in the process is to contact the Aquidneck Land Trust. We are eager to hear from you and learn why you love your land. Explore with the Aquidneck Land Trust the conservation values you want to protect on the land. Discuss what you want to accomplish, and what rights you may want to retain. For example, if your parcel is large enough, you may already have one home on your property and want to preserve the right to build an additional residence for a child in the future. That is the type of provision that must be specifically written into an easement agreement. The Aquidneck Land Trust will help you understand if your land meets the Land Trust's conservation criteria

The Aquidneck Land Trust can put you in touch with owners of conserved land so you can learn first hand what the process is like before as well as long after the closing. Please remember to consult with other family members as well as your own advisors regarding such a substantial decision.

Want to learn more about preserving your land? Please contact Ted Clement at 401/849-2799 ext. 12. Ted will answer questions regarding your specific situation.