Conservation Buyers
Conservation buyers fill a unique niche by enabling land trusts to protect exceptional properties for which funding is difficult to secure. These individuals are interested in purchasing land for the purposes of protecting it. In these cases, the buyer agrees to purchase a property and protect it permanently with a conservation easement by working in partnership with a conservation organization. In some instances, the buyer may purchase an already-protected property that a land trust has already acquired and placed under a conservation easement.
Transactions involving conservation buyers can be beneficial for everyone involved. The sellers obtain a fair price for their land and the land trust furthers its conservation efforts. The buyers gain a beautiful property and the satisfaction of knowing they have helped to save an important natural place. In some cases, buyers also gain a tax advantage from the easement gift. In each case, the land trust provides support and technical guidance in facilitating the property’s long-term protection.