Process of Accepting a Conservation Easement

 The main steps in accepting an easement include:

• General information seeking to decide whether a conservation easement is appropriate for a landowners needs.

• Discussion of these needs and desires with the Alaska Farmland Trust Corporation (AFTC), including public benefit and stewardship funding.

• Initial and limited inspection of the land by the AFTC (receiving a copy of a plat or tax map from the landowner, site visit to walk the land and take some photos).  Any further details that can be provided about the types of activities the landowner intends to conduct on the property (farming, forestry, wildlife management, future improvements, etc.).

• Review of the proposed conservation easement by the AFTC Board of Directors to determine if it meets the protection criteria.  The AFTC Board of Directors must approve the acceptance of the conservation easement before moving forward with the project.

• Due diligence (further inspecting the land, title certification, and generating the baseline documentation of the conservation values).

• Writing the conservation easement.  If both parties decide to move forward with the project, the Alaska Farmland Trust Corporation will work with the landowner and their attorney to prepare the conservation easement (there may be several revisions before a final version is agreed upon).

• Signing and recording the easement.

Costs Incurred by the Landowner

In granting an easement, the landowner is responsible for the fees for any professional services they obtain. These include surveyors, appraisers, attorneys, and financial consultants. The AFTC also request the landowner to assist with cost of baseline documentation.  A Baseline Document is required by the AFTC for the purpose of establishing the condition of the land at the time the conservation easement is granted.  The typical cost for a baseline report is between $1,000-$1,500.  In addition, the Alaska Farmland Trust requests that each landowner who places a conservation easement on his or her land make a tax-deductible gift to our stewardship endowment. The endowment provides funding for our perpetual obligation to inspect the property annually, enforce and/or defend conservation easements and to otherwise perform our responsibilities. We cannot accept an easement without finding a source to fund for its care in the future. We provide you with an estimate as we learn more about the land and move forward with the easement transaction.

What happens after an easement is in place?

The current and successive owners continue to own, manage and pay taxes on the land. You can continue the uses of the land you agreed to retain. You decide whether or not to allow public access and, if so, on what terms. Your property is still private. You can pass it on to the next generation, sell it, trade it – you retain all the rights of ownership, except those you voluntarily gave away in the conservation easement.

Those rights you voluntarily gave away will be protected by the Alaska Farmland Trust. Our land trust will monitor your property at least once a year to ensure the agreements made in the easement are being kept. If necessary, the Alaska Farmland Trust will defend the terms of the conservation easement in court.