Is a Conservation Easement Right for You?
There are many reasons a landowner may choose a conservation easement. A conservation easement is a voluntary tool that landowners can use to ensure the future retention of unbroken ranch lands and the natural assets they provide e.g. beef production, wildlife habitat, and healthy watersheds.
The easement agreement between a landowner and SALTS is registered on the title of the land in perpetuity and limits the amount and type of development that can occur on a property to preserve its natural character and agricultural potential.
Granting a conservation easement also has associated financial benefits which can help landowners transition their property to the next generation of producers, keeping it as a viable agricultural unit.
SALTS has a no pressure, transparent, and collaborative approach, working with you to understand your needs to help assess if a conservation easement is the right option for you.
Conserving Land, Livelihood, Legacy.
Why Landowners Consider
Conservation Easements
A conservation easement needs to be consistent with the landowner’s long-term vision for their land. It is also important for the landowner to consider whether it makes sense for them and their family.
A landowner may choose to pursue a conservation easement for one or several of the following reasons:
Wanting to see your land stay in agriculture and not converted to non-agricultural uses when you sell.
Seeing development occur around your land and deciding that you that don’t want the same outcome for your land, regardless of future ownership.
A profound appreciation for the plants and animals on your land and wanting to see them preserved.
You plan to pass the land onto your children and can do a tax roll over but don’t want to pass a significant capital gains liability to the next generation. A conservation easement can reduce the capital gains tax assessed as well as provide a charitable receipt to help offset part or all the additional tax when the land is sold/transferred.
You plan to pass the land onto family but require some of the equity tied up in the land to retire. A conservation easement may allow the owner to extract some value from the land and still pass it on to family without having to sell part of it.
You plan to pass the land onto someone who doesn’t qualify for a tax roll over and the transfer is going to trigger significant capital gains tax. A conservation easement can reduce the capital gains tax assessed as well as provide a charitable receipt to help offset part or all the additional tax when the land is sold/transferred.
What a Conservation Easement Achieves
SALTS views ranching as compatible with the preservation of the conservation values of the property. The key restrictions in the agreement are meant to limit fragmentation or degradation of the land.
To maintain the land's agricultural and conservation value, conservation easement agreements can limit:
Avoid subdivision (unless negotiated in the agreement)
Limit new residential development (unless negotiated in the agreement)
Restrict cultivation of native grasslands
Limit new roads (unless negotiated in the agreement)
Avoid surface mining including commercial gravel pits
Restrict commercial wind energy/solar development
Frequently Asked Questions
YES. The landowner retains the title/ownership of the land and is free to sell, will, or gift the land to whoever they want, subject only to the terms in the conservation easement.
NO. SALTS conservation easement specifically states that SALTS is not involved in day-to-day operations and is only interested in making sure that the restrictions agreed to in the easement are upheld.
NO. Standard ranching activities are permitted under the easement including building new standard cattle fencing, water developments for cattle, spraying for invasive weeds, clearing brush, clearing trees along fencelines.
YES, with limitations. SALTS will work with you to try and accommodate future building sites. This may impact the value of your compensation for the conservation easement as you are giving up less development rights. Also, if the location/number of future building sites have a significant impact on the conservation or ranching value of the property, SALTS may not be interested in facilitating the conservation easement on your property. For example, a small property with multiple building sites may have limited conservation value whereas a big property with few or no building sites will have high conservation value.
NO. There is nothing in the conservation easement that requires a landowner to provide public access to their land. The easement states that decision regarding access are left to the landowner.
DEPENDS. There is a process to amend the conservation easement provided the proposed changes don't have a negative impact on the conservation values that the easement is designed to protect.
There is no mechanism to "buy out" a conservation easement. If there was, it wouldn't be a very effective way to conserve land in areas with pressure for housing or recreational development.
NO. SALTS holds the conservation easement as a non-profit land trust enabled to hold the easement under provincial legislation.
