What is a Land Trust and How Does It Work ?

Imagine an organization committed to preserving the character of our landscape in a variety of ways. That's a land trust.

It might buy critical acreage or accept land donations. But probably at the core of its operations would be acquiring donated development rights -- so-called conservation easements -- from individual property owners.

These easements typically represent a win-win situation for everyone.

The landowner retains ownership of the property and tailors the conservation easement to provide for continued use of it as a working farm or some other designated purpose. And the easement donation to the land trust usually generates significant tax benefits and guarantees that the land will forever be used only as specified by the owner, even if and/or when it is sold to other parties.

For the land trust, conservation easements represent an extremely cost-effective way to further its preservation objectives. In essence, the trust acquires development rights to properties without having to own them -- and its chief task becomes one of monitoring the easements to make sure no violations of their terms occur.

As an example of how all of this works, consider the actual case of Kelly Coffey of Aho -- who also happens to be the president of the Blue Ridge Rural Land Trust.

Coffey donated a conservation easement on his 12 acres located just below the Blue Ridge Parkway's Raven Rock Overlook in Watauga County. It guarantees the woodland section next to the overlook will not be cut and the rest will remain pasture, orchard, and cropland.

"I donated the easement primarily to maintain the rural character of my community," Coffey says. "Furthermore, it doesn't change the way I use the property. I bought the land to farm and that is what I plan to do with it in the future. I determined the content of the easement, and don't feel I've given up anything I wanted."

There's an additional advantage: "I gained the right to control my land after my death. I could try to stipulate in a will what should be done with the land, but normally you can never exercise control after you die."

By reducing the development potential on his land, Coffey will be eligible for reduced income and estate taxes. North Carolina is the first state to award state income tax credits for donated conservation land or easements. The tax credits and deductions are based on the value of the potential development rights given up.