Protect Your Land
Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy works with willing landowners who are interested in exploring conservation options. Our land protection team will discuss landowners’ individual needs and concerns related to their land and work to find the best way to permanently preserve the conservation values on the property – while upholding accredited land trust standards and practices.
In this video, SAHC Land Protection Director Michelle Pugliese and Land Protection Associate Kyle Shute discuss an overview of the land protection process and some frequently asked questions.
How Does SAHC Protect Land?
One way is through conservation easements. This method allows landowners to continue to own and use their land, while voluntarily restricting its development rights.
In other cases, a landowner may wish to entrust SAHC to own the land as a preserve. We accept donations of land and conservation easements; donors may be eligible for tax benefits and should consult their tax advisors for more info.
In rare cases we have applied for grants to enable us to pay landowners for land or conservation easements that qualify for specific grant programs.
How does SAHC protect land?
One way is through conservation easements. This method allows landowners to continue to own and use their land, while voluntarily restricting its development rights.
In other cases, a landowner may wish to entrust SAHC to own the land as a preserve. We accept donations of land and conservation easements; donors may be eligible for tax benefits and should consult their tax advisors for more info.
In rare cases we have applied for grants to enable us to pay landowners for land or conservation easements that qualify for specific grant programs. Read more about Conservation Options for Landowners below.
Who Do I Contact About Protecting My Land?
SAHC Land Protection Associate Kyle Shute fields all of our new landowner inquires, and will be the best person to answer your initial questions about the land protection process. You can reach out via email to kyle@appalachian.org.
Please be patient. In addition to new inquiries, we are deep into the work of moving multiple land protection projects forward at various stages in the process, and collaborating with conservation partners across the landscape. We will follow up on your inquiry as soon as possible.
Is there a Minimum or Maximum Size of Property for Conservation?
The short answer is no. SAHC has protected very small parcels to close in-holding gaps in national forests, and we accepted the donation of 7,500 acres for what is now SAHC’s South Yellow Mountain Preserve.
Each year, we recieve increasing numbers of new land protection inquiries. Which is great, because we want to protect more land! However, we have limits on the staff and funding capacity to pursue new projects. Small properties require just as much work as large tracts during in the due diligence stages (title work, surveys, appraisals, baseline and environmental reports, etc.). As an accredited land trust, SAHC follows a rigorous process to ensure that we are working on projects to protect the highest priority conservation values across our service area (water quality, soils for local food production, scenic beauty, connectivity for wildlife habitat, and so on). After your initial inquiry, our land protection staff will reach out gain more information about your property, and evaluate if it will be feasible to proceed further in the land protection process.
What are Conservation Options for Landowners?
There are many “tools” in our conservation toolbox. Below are some of the land conservation options for landowners and methods of protecting land:
GIFT OF CONSERVATION EASEMENT: Landowner maintains ownership and use of the land. Conservation restrictions delineate specific prohibited and permitted uses of the property. Permitted uses usually include agriculture, forestry, recreation, other open space uses, and maintenance of existing roads, structures and residences. Prohibited uses typically include industrial, commercial, and residential real estate development; occasionally, limited home sites are reserved with the approval of the land trust. Restrictions may cover all or part of the property. Landowner becomes eligible for federal income tax deductions.
GIFT IN FEE SIMPLE (DONATIONS OF LAND): The property is given to the land trust, which may manage the property for the long term as a nature preserve; sell the property while retaining conservation restrictions; or retain ownership and lease the land with conservation restrictions to a private party, such as a farmer. The donor is entitled to an income tax deduction for the value of the property.
GIFTS OF A REMAINDER INTEREST: Some landowners donate land to a land trust, while retaining a life estate for themselves, their families, and sometimes their farm employees to continue living on it. The donor can realize potentially significant tax deduction during his/her lifetime. Upon the donors or named persons’ death, the land trust will have full ownership of the property.
DONATION OF UNDIVIDED INTEREST: By donating an undivided percentage interest in the property to the land trust, the landowner creates a shared tenancy with the land trust. At some point the landowner and the land trust will separate their interests into ownership and conservation restrictions, or plan phased donations over time until the land trust obtains full ownership of the land.
SALE OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS: This is the same as selling a conservation easement that restricts the use of land to primarily agricultural and/or conservation use. The value (price) of development rights is the difference between the land’s fair market value for development and its value for agricultural or conservation purposes. The landowner retains title to the land, but the right to develop all or part of the land in the future has been extinguished. Frequently, landowners will sell the conservation easement at less than its full market value (a “bargain sale”), entitling them to tax benefits for the donated amount.
SALE OF LAND: If funding is available, a land trust occasionally purchases a piece of land that is very important to the local community or region and is under threat of development. The land trust may manage the property for the long term as a nature preserve, or transfer the land (often to public agencies or private ownership) while retaining conservation restrictions on the lands where conservation is most important. Often landowners sell the land at less than its full market value (a “bargain sale”), entitling them to tax benefits for the donated amount.
CONSERVATION BUYER: A real estate buyer who wants to preserve the conservation values of the land will purchase the land directly from a willing seller. The buyer agrees to donate a conservation easement to a land trust after the land purchase, becoming eligible for tax benefits associated with the donation
What is a Conservation Easement?
A conservation easement is a voluntary, legal agreement that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. Conservation easements protect significant natural and agricultural resources that benefit present and future generations. In the long term, permanent protection of the land is ensured by SAHC’s stewardship team.
Read more about our Introduction to Conservation Easements HERE >>
Tell Me About the NC Conservation Tax Credit
The NC Conservation Tax Credit program allows landowners to donate land or a conservation easement with an eligible public benefit to a qualified recipient and receive a credit of up to 25% of the fair market value at the time of the donation.
From 1983 to 2013, the Conservation Tax Credit (CTC) was an integral tool for land conservation efforts, helping to protect over 262,000 acres. During that time, the program was of great value to conservation and to the NC taxpayer: for every dollar that was given in tax credit, at least 6 dollars’ worth of land was conserved. The credit was repealed in 2013, but the General Assembly recently reestablished a credit for qualifying donations made in 2025 and 2026 (see N.C.G.S. 105-153.11 and N.C.G.S. 105-130.34).
Find more details HERE >>
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Federal Conservation Easement Tax Incentive
In 2015 Congress enacted one of the most powerful conservation measures in decades: the enhanced federal tax incentive for conservation easement donations. This permanent conservation easement tax incentive is a powerful tool that helps Americans conserve their land voluntarily. Find more information about conservation easements and the potential tax benefits of conservation easements from the Land Trust Alliance.
Landowner Stewardship Resources
Links to resources for landowners of conservation properties and/or those people interested in managing their own land.
