A Quick Guide to Conserve Land

Conserving land in Charlotte usually starts with a call or email to the Charlotte Land Trust. CLT gathers information about the land and does an initial site visit with the landowner. If this initial review indicates that a property is a candidate for conservation, CLT hires a consulting ecologist to prepare an in-depth report of site features. If the report confirms that conservation of the property meets CLT’s criteria and goals, we begin the process with the landowner leading to a conservation easement.

As part of the conservation process a property appraisal is done to determine the full value of the land without restrictions and the value with the conservation easement’s restrictions. The difference in the two values is, in essence, the value of the conservation easement.  Landowners may be able to take a charitable deduction for the easement value if it is donated to the conservation organization or sold at less than full value (a bargain sale). But while the financial return or tax advantage of conserving land is important, the greatest value for landowners is often the knowledge that their land will be protected and retain its special features for many generations to come.

One of the tools CLT uses in reveiwing potential projects is a set of questions called “Project Selection Criteria” to guide the decision making and ranking of potential projects. In addition, CLT consults various resource maps for the Town of Charlotte such as those on Critical Wildlife Habitat, and Natural and Cultural Features with High Public Value.