Questions
The five we are asked at every kitchen table.
- What is a conservation easement?
- A recorded agreement between you and us that limits how the land may be developed, permanently. You keep the deed, the use, the taxes, and the right to sell. We hold the right to enforce the limits and the obligation to check them every year. It is a document, not a transfer.
- Does it give the public a right to walk on my land?
- No, unless you write public access into it yourself. Most of our easements grant none. This is the most common assumption we correct, and it is worth being blunt: we are not a parks agency, we do not manage anything for public use, and signing does not put your land on a map for hikers.
- Can I still farm, log, or build a barn?
- Farming continues as it is. Logging continues under a management plan, with notice to us above a threshold your document names. Agricultural and forestry buildings are generally allowed. Houses are what the easement actually restricts, and the building envelope you reserve is agreed before signing rather than argued afterwards.
- Is it really permanent?
- Yes. It runs with the land and binds every future owner. That permanence is the entire value of the instrument and the reason we push people to take a year over the decision. If any part of your plan for the land is 'maybe later', an easement is the wrong tool and we will tell you so.
- What does it do to my property taxes?
- It depends on your town's grand list, the state programmes you are already in, and your own circumstances — which is why we will not put a figure on this page. Ask your accountant and your town's listers before you ask us. We will happily sit in on that conversation and answer what the document says.