There are several options available to landowners who are interested in protecting their land. The two most common are the donation of a conservation easement on the land, or the donation of the land itself. These and other options are described briefly below; more information is available from the Conservancy staff.
Donation of a Conservation Easement
An individual landowner may choose to donate a conservation easement on his or her property, retaining ownership and use of the land, but giving up the right to develop it. The conservation easement deed, a legally binding agreement between a landowner and a land trust such as the Monadnock Conservancy, describes specific permitted uses of the property, including agriculture, forestry, recreation, and other open space uses; and specific prohibited uses, including industrial, commercial, and residential development, and other intensive activities such as mining and unsustainable logging.
More and more municipalities are setting priorities for conservation, and the Conservancy is increasingly being asked to accept conservation easements on town-owned lands. Towns must have a vote at Town Meeting to proceed, and then they have the same flexibility as private landowners in drafting an easement. A town often prioritizes protecting land for a variety of public uses, often supporting clean drinking water and public recreation.
Donation of Land
A landowner may give a property to the Monadnock Conservancy outright, with the agreement that the organization will manage the land for conservation. The Conservancy may either keep the land, or, with the permission of the donor, may place a conservation easement on the land and then sell it or otherwise convey it, with restrictions in place, to another land trust or to a private or public entity.
Gift of Land or Conservation Easement by Bequest
An individual may make a bequest of land or of a conservation easement to the Monadnock Conservancy through her or his will.
Gift of a Remainder Interest
Landowners can donate land to the Monadnock Conservancy while retaining a life interest in the property for themselves, their families, or others.
Sale of Land or Easement
Occasionally, the Monadnock Conservancy may purchase a piece of land or a conservation easement. In this case, an independent appraiser determines the sale price. Often such a transaction may be a “bargain sale,” whereby the value of the property, or of the easement, is less than the appraised fair market value. Currently in New Hampshire there is limited public money for these types of conservation transactions. When the Monadnock Conservancy has participated in such projects, it has been with the leadership of the local municipality or of a committed group of community members and a local, private fundraising campaign.
