Business Resources: Conservation Easements

Conservation easements help protect Mississippi’s natural and historic resources, while easing the tax burden on property owners and their heirs. Landowners can enter property of various acreages into a conservation easement, voluntarily putting restrictions on certain types of development or land uses. However, landowners retain ownership of the property. Conservation easements are written specifically for a property, addressing the needs of the landowner and the characteristics of the property.

The following links will provide more in-depth information:

• Conservation easements
  Ohio State University. This publication defines easements, conservation easements and agricultural easements and describes who can grant conservation easements and who holds conservation easements, as well as the responsibilities of the easement holder.
• Conservation easements
  Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA). This publication gives a definition of conservation easements including reasons for placing an easement on the land and the effects it has. It describes who holds and who enforces easements and provides examples of government incentive programs. Also provided is a list of additional resources including organizations and publications on conservation easements.
  
• Agricultural Conservation Easements
  American Farmland Trust. This publication describes agricultural conservation easements, tells what restrictions a conservation easement puts on land and describes the term of these restrictions. It also informs readers on the rights retained when an easement is put in place and the value and tax benefits of an easement. A brief history of agricultural conservation easements is given along with positive and negative aspects of a conservation easement.
  
• Conservation easements
  The University of Georgia, River Basin Center has a website that lists several research publications, papers, and resources on conservation easements in Georgia.
  
• What is a Conservation Easement?
  The University of Georgia, Institute of Ecology

These resources have been compiled from various resources and agencies and are provided here for educational purposes only. Please if you find information that needs to be updated, broken links, or if you have an additional resource you feel is pertinent