How Does NCCT Help Landowners?

NCCT works with landowners to develop conservation easements to protect and preserve the conservation values of their properties. A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust like NCCT that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. It allows landowners to continue to own and use their land, and they can also sell it or pass it on to heirs.

When a landowner donates a conservation easement to a land trust, they give up some of the rights associated with the land. For example, they might give up the right to build additional structures, while retaining the right to grow crops. Future owners also will be bound by the easement’s terms. The land trust is responsible for making sure the easement’s terms are followed.

Conservation easements offer great flexibility. An easement on property containing rare wildlife habitat might prohibit any development, for example, while an easement on a farm might allow continued farming and the addition of agricultural structures. An easement may apply to all or a portion of the property, and need not require public access.