Land Protection Tools

Protecting your land ensures that it will remain in its natural state forever. People protect land for many diverse reasons—to maintain the scenic character of their community, to protect wildlife habitat or historic structures, or to provide recreational opportunities that will be enjoyed by future generations. Every landowner’s needs and interests are different, and there are a range of land conservation tools that can be tailored to your individual circumstances. The best way to determine what is best for you and your land is to talk with a representative from a land trust.

Conservation Restrictions

A conservation restriction (or CR, also known as a conservation easement outside of Massachusetts) is a legal agreement that extinguishes the development rights of the land forever, but does not alter the ownership of the land. This agreement is documented and recorded with the deed and is passed along to all future owners. It is enforced by the organization that holds the CR, typically a state or federal conservation agency or a private nonprofit organization such as a land trust.

Conservation restrictions are appealing to some landowners because they are lasting, long-term agreements that can be crafted with a high degree of flexibility. The exact terms included in a CR can be tailored to the individual qualities of a particular piece of land, and to the needs and interests of the landowners. CRs may provide for timber management, wildlife improvements, trail creation, and agricultural use. After a CR is executed, the taxable value of the land may decrease significantly, possibly making it easier to pass the land on to the next generation. Public access is not required when CR’s are placed on the land and while a CR restricts land from being developed, parcels of land may be excluded and set aside for future building lots. In rare cases, it may be possible to sell a CR to a conservation entity if there are significant ecological, aesthetic, or cultural features on your land. Farmland can be protected through a special type of CR, called an Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR). The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has an active program in which they pay farmers to extinguish the development rights on their farms, but APR’s can also be donated to or purchased by conservation organizations and towns.

Donating or Selling Land

Another way to permanently protect land is to donate it to a conservation organization or agency that will care for the land in the future. This option relieves you of the tax burdens and management responsibility of owning land. Choosing the conservation organization or government agency that will own your land is an important consideration in this decision making process, as management priorities and objectives may vary from organization to organization.  It may be possible to sell your land to a conservation entity if there are significant ecological, aesthetic, or cultural features on your land. 

Excerpted from Your Land, Your Choices by the Highland Communities Initiative.  For a free copy of Land Conservation Options, visit their website to download a pdf copy or email or call HCI at 413.268.8219 to have a copy sent by mail.

If you are interested in speaking with the Hilltown Land Trust about the possibility of setting up a conservation restriction, agricultural protection restriction, or land donation to protect your land for future generations, please email

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