Online program helps landowners create conservation easements

Landowners interested in protecting the state’s natural resources now have a free online guide to creating a conservation easement for their properties.

The eight-segment video series, developed by the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service, walks landowners through how to decide if a conservation easement is right for them and, if so, how to apply for an easement.

A conservation easement is a legal document that sets restrictions on how the land can be used. Each easement is developed to meet the specific guidelines established by the property owner and is managed by a public agency or a nonprofit land trust to permanently protect the land for future generations. Types of land that may be put into a conservation easement include farms, forests, wildlife habitats and scenic spaces.

The program was developed by Susan Guynn, extension associate in Clemson University’s forestry and natural resources department, through a grant from the USDA Renewable Resources Extension Act. It taps the expertise of nationally known economic and conservation leaders Harry L. Haney, emeritus professor of forestry at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., and R. Joseph Hamilton, southern outreach director for Quality Deer Management Association in Bogart, Ga.

The 30- to 60-minute segments cover:

* What are conservation easements
* Introduction to conservation easements
* Types of easements
* Conservation easements grantees
* Income and estate taxes
* Designing conservation easements
* Baseline data
* Qualified appraisers

The program is made available at no charge in the Southeast through the Cooperative Extension Service at land-grant universities, such as Clemson and Virginia Tech, as well as state natural resource conservation services, soil and water conservation districts, state forestry associations and forestry commissions, natural resources departments, forest landowners associations and nonprofit agencies such as Upstate Forever in Greenville and the Congaree Land Trust in Columbia.

It also can be viewed here.