A conservation easement is a voluntary agreement between a landowner and a conservation organization or government entity that restricts certain types of development or land use to protect the land’s ecological, agricultural, or historical value. The land remains privately owned, but the easement ensures its preservation for future generations.

Conservation easements are important because they help safeguard natural habitats, protect water quality, maintain scenic landscapes, and support sustainable land use practices, all while allowing landowners to retain ownership and, in some cases, benefit from tax incentives.

The LAEPP pays farmland owners to voluntarily place an agricultural easement upon their farm to preserve it as a working farm forever.

The program provides an opportunity for landowners who love their land to be compensated for extinguishing the “development rights” and be reassured that the farm will always BE a farm. The land stays under private ownership.

To qualify, farms must be more than 40 acres, actively engaged in farming and enrolled in the Current Agricultural Use Valuation (CAUV) and Agricultural District programs.

A small farm exception is an option for landowners with less than 40 acres if they are adjacent to other permanently protected properties. Landowners may use the proceeds of the easement in any way they wish, but most reinvest it in their farm operation.

Since the Agricultural Easement Purchase Program (predecessor to the Local Agricultural Easement Purchase Program) began in 2002, Lake SWCD has worked with interested landowners to establish easements on 11 farms, preserving a total of 497 acres in North Perry Village, Madison Township and Leroy Township.