Protect Your Land

Conservation Easements

A conservation easement is a voluntary, legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. Conservation easements are DALC's primary tool for land protection.

 

Conservation easements in the Driftless Area typically protect any or all of these values:

 

• Wildlife habitat and corridors, particularly prairies, savannas, and oak woodlands.

• Working farms & ranches

• Trout streams

• Open space and scenic values

• Public access (though not required) and recreation

 

Land under easement remains private property.  You retain ownership, and can continue to live on the land and use it for farming, forestry, recreation, education or other activities that sustain its conservation values.  You can sell your property or pass it on to your heirs; the conservation easement transfers with it, protecting the land forever.

 

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

 

As an accredited land trust, Driftless Area Land Conservancy adheres to strict standards of excellence in protecting conservation lands. DALC holds over 50 conservation easements in six Wisconsin counties and we are responsible for enforcing the restrictions that each easement document spells out. We monitor every easement annually and maintain written records of these monitoring visits, which also provide the landowner a chance to keep in touch with the land trust.

 

Once you create an easement with DALC, we remain your ongoing partner, providing advice, connections to resources, and support, and ensuring that your vision for the land is carried out – even when the property changes ownership.