Download:  Protecting Your Land with a Conservation Easement (PDF)

Excerpt:

Landowners, perhaps more than any other single group, hold the key to our region’s well-being.  Their careful stewardship of our natural lands and working farms gives the Finger Lakes region its unique character.  Increasingly, landowners are recognizing the incalculable value of our region’s open spaces and are choosing to ensure the future of their land through the use of conservation easements.

Conservation easements are one of the most powerful and effective tools available for the permanent protection of private lands.  A conservation easement is a legally binding agreement made between a property owner and a land trust, conservation agency or municipality that limits future development while allowing for traditional uses such as agriculture and forestry.  Easements are recorded in the land records and become part of the title to the land.

Conservation easements provide a practical and flexible way to hold your land in safekeeping for the benefit of future generations.  Conveying an easement can make sound financial sense—in some cases resulting in significant tax benefits through a federal income tax deduction, a reduction in estate taxes and a state tax credit.  Most importantly, easements offer a means to ensure the permanent protection of the land you love…

Download:  Protecting Your Land with a Conservation Easement (PDF)

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