Conservation Easements: legal Principles, Valuation, and Applications

Conservation easements play an important role in protecting natural landscapes and sensitive habitats, and in promoting sustainable land use practices. In this course, students will explore the principles, applications, controversies, and implications of this land policy instrument. 

The course from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy begins with an introduction and overview of conservation easements, setting the stage to explore their uses in land policy. Throughout the modules, students will also review the legal principles, valuation methods, and federal tax provisions associated with conservation easements, while gaining insights from real-world examples and exploring strategies to address controversial aspects of this tool.

In a nutshell, this resource offers:

• Nine modules providing an in depth look at conservation easements.
• An explanation of different types of easements.
• An overview of controversies and mitigation for the effects of easements.

How to use this resource:

• To familiarize yourself with easements and how they might be useful for your work.
• To gain an understanding of the legal principles behind easements. 

Authors: Joan Youngman, Armando Carbonell, Paul O’Leary, James J. Czupryna, and Stephen J. Small

Resource is available online here.