Project Held In A Conservation Easement

The fifteen and a half acres involved in this project are protected perpetually in a deed-recorded conservation easement.  This was a requirement of the stream mitigation, as a conservation easement is a restriction placed on a piece of property to protect its associated resources.  In a conservation easement, a landowner voluntarily agrees to relinquish certain rights associated with his or her property and a private organization or public agency agrees to hold the right to enforce the landowner’s promise not to exercise those rights. In essence, the rights are forfeited and no longer exist.

An easement selectively targets only those rights necessary to protect specific conservation values, such as water quality or migration routes, and is individually tailored to meet a landowner's needs. Because the land remains in private ownership, with the remainder of the rights intact, an easement property continues to provide economic benefits for the area in the form of economic activity and property taxes.

A conservation easement is legally binding, whether the property is sold or passed on to heirs. Because use is permanently restricted, land subject to a conservation easement may be worth less on the open market than comparable unrestricted and developable parcels. Sometimes conservation easements will enable the landowner to qualify for tax benefits in compliance with Internal Revenue Service rules.

The conservation easement for the Sugar Creek two-stage ditch project is being held by the Ottawa River Coalition.  As the holder of the easement, the Coalition serves as the third-party administrator and local guarantor that the mitigation project and the grant-funded project are both protected and maintained according to the original project plans and agreements.