Landowners ...

What will your legacy be?

Frances Austin donated a conservation easement on Lindale Farm to Piedmont Land Conservancy in 1995, nine years before she passed away. Photo by Virginia Weiler for PLC

If you own a working farm or a piece of undeveloped property, you have a major role TODAY in deciding how North Carolina will look and how North Carolinians will live for centuries to come.

By 2030, North Carolina is expected to have 12 million residents, up from about 9 million now. It’s inevitable that we’ll see some loss of rural land as homes, offices and shops are built to accommodate them. Our state is already losing 100,000 acres every year to urban and suburban development - an area the size of Winston-Salem and High Point combined.

The Conservation Trust for North Carolina and the state’s 24 local land trusts want to make sure that we protect areas where development shouldn’t occur. That means watersheds that feed streams, lakes and groundwater that we drink. It means habitat for threatened plants and animals. It means farms and forests that have been worked for generations. It means the spectacular mountain views that people travel across the country to see.

Skyrocketing land values may weigh on your wallet at tax time, or make you wonder whether it’s time to sell and move out. If you treasure your land and want it to stay green - whether you still live there or not - a conservation project may be the answer.

“What are my options?”

- You could sell or donate your land to a land trust.
- You could set up a conservation agreement (an easement).
- You could take part in other government-sponsored programs.

“What are the benefits?”

- You can claim a federal income tax deduction or a state income tax credit.
- You can continue to work your farm or forest, or live on your land - even subdivide it or put up another building, depending on the terms of the agreement.
- You’ll join other North Carolinians who have guaranteed that their property will be as beautiful in the future as it is today.

Download more information:

Voluntary Conservation Easements: A Guide for North Carolina Landowners
This exhaustive guide, newly updated in 2010, gives details on conservation agreeements, whether sold or donated. It's a large .pdf file (3 MB) and may take time to download. For a printed version, please contact your local land trust or send a message to CTNC.

Current information on tax benefits of voluntary conservation easements
This two-page flyer provides up-to-the-minute information on state and federal tax benefits of conservation agreements. It is included in printed copies of Voluntary Conservation Easements. The current version was updated in July 2010.