Conservation Easement

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There are several methods that PILP uses to preserve undeveloped land on Peaks Island, including what has come to be the most popular tool – Conservation Easements. The Conservation Easement is a method of land conservation that "keeps land in the family" or in private ownership, while ensuring the property's long-term protection.

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Customized to the particular needs of each landowner and property, a Conservation Easement is a versatile conservation tool. In placing a Conservation Easement on your land, you formally agree to give up development rights that you otherwise would have. Granting a Conservation Easement may greatly reduce a landowner's burden from estate, income and property taxes.

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Each Conservation Easement is a legal agreement in which PILP assumes permanent responsibility for monitoring the property and enforcing the easement terms. If an easement is violated by the donor or a subsequent owner of the property, PILP can take action to have the violation corrected.

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Because subsequent owners of the property have to observe the restrictions set forth in the easement, it is truly a way to ensure that certain land will never be developed, or that it will be developed only in a very limited way, while still keeping it in private ownership.

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Donation of a Conservation Easement offers tax advantages if the easement provides significant public benefits and meets certain tax code provisions.

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For more information about Conservation Easements, or to discuss whether the Peaks Island Land Preserve would interested in holding a Conservation Easement on some of your land, feel free to contact a board member, or come to one of our monthly board meetings.