A conservation easement is a voluntary agreement on the part of a private landowner to give up the subdivision and development rights in order to protect certain conservation values on their property. Easements exist in perpetuity, and it is NMLC’s role as the land trust to ensure that the conservation values of the protected lands are preserved into the future.

State and federal tax incentives are hugely important to NMLC’s mission because they allow us to partner with landowners of all income ranges who want to conserve their land for future generations but need to realize some of the value now from donating their development rights.