There are a variety of different easement types based on different goals of the easements and the process of getting an easement involves completing a baseline map of the site and a management plan to keep the site natural, prior to the negotiating and drafting of the easement agreement, a title search and payment to landowners, if agreed upon.
Conservation easements are...
- Conservation easements are an interest in real property that places certain restrictions on the use of the property for conservation purposes. These easements are also an agreement between the landowner and the easement holder retaining or protecting natural, scenic, or open-space values of real property, assuring its availability for agricultural, forest, recreation, or open-space use, protecting natural resources, maintaining or enhancing air quality, or preserving the historical, architectural, archaeological, or cultural aspects of real property.
- They are a critical component of the state’s efforts to improve water quality by reducing soil erosion, phosphorus and nitrogen loading, and improving wildlife habitat and flood attenuation on private lands. Easements protect the state’s water and soil resources by permanently restoring wetlands, adjacent native grassland wildlife habitat complexes and permanent riparian buffers.
- In cooperation with county Soil & Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), BWSR's programs compensate landowners for granting conservation easements and establishing native vegetation habitat on economically marginal, flood-prone, environmentally sensitive or highly erodible lands.
- Conservation easements in Minnesota can be acquired and held by (1) governmental entities otherwise authorized to hold real property and (2) charitable organizations whose purpose meets the statutory definition of conservation easement
Easement groups and programs
Non-profit Groups
- Minnesota Land Trust - http://www.mnland.org/easement-faq/