Conservation Easements:
A tool to preserve and protect natural resources
What is a conservation easement?
It is a voluntary action on the part of landowners to protect the health and quality of a natural area on their property. A conservation easement is one way for a property owner to ensure that certain values of the property will be protected in perpetuity regardless of who may own the property subsequently.
The easement may prohibit clear-cutting or specify what percentage of timber can be removed from a property. It may allow certain kinds of activities (a pedestrian trail) but prohibit others (a trail for motorized vehicles). The easement can be used to protect wetlands, wildlife, and riparian (streamside) areas.
View the Future may help a private landowner through the complicated process to establish an easement.
- As a holder of a conservation easement, View the Future may share in some of the costs of establishing the easement, such as paying for an appraisal of the value of the resources on that property or help the landowner find other sources of funding the costs.
- View the Future would also agree to monitor the easement, making sure that no violations occur at any time in the future. It is a serious commitment, but one which the VtF Board believes is a viable direction to pursue to protect the health and beauty of Yachats’ natural surroundings for the future.
