COCHRANE, Alta. – Protecting a pristine natural area in perpetuity is a gift for all, but strings are attached.
Since legislation was passed in Alberta 12 years ago, more than 460 agreements on about 80,000 acres of land have been protected through conservation easements.
It is a legal agreement between a private landowner and a recognized organization that can maintain the ecological value of the land, said Kim Good of the Miistakis Institute, who helps landowners prepare protection documents for their property.
It is voluntary and can be made with the province, municipality or a land stewardship organization. The owner retains title to the land and has a set of rights, but some rights are also sacrificed.
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“Really think about what your vision is for that property in the future,” Good said at a recent environmental seminar in Cochrane.
“You are going to make decisions for the next generation.”
An owner may wish to preserve his land’s biological diversity or natural scenic beauty. It will be up to him to decide if there will be public access or if the property will be limited to education or scientific research.
Other owners may want to protect their land from future urban development.
“Some people protect their land for their kids, some protect it from their kids,” Good said.
Most agreements protect the land in perpetuity. In Good’s experience, the first and second generations of the family accept this but conflicts may arise with the third or fourth generations.
Each province has slightly different requirements. In Alberta, easements are not intended to protect farmland for agriculture, although such provisions exist in Nova Scotia and Ontario.
A landowner can initiate a plan by contacting a land trust group. A municipality or a land trust may also initiate a plan to protect land for the public.
It can take days or years to write up an easement agreement. Families need to be involved, said Good.
A land inventory is needed, which would include information on the state of riparian health, grasslands, plants and buildings. A certified appraisal provides a fair market value of the land before and after the easement. The plan then goes through a review panel and is registered on the land title.
Good recommended using an experienced lawyer and financial and estate planner.
“It is good to understand how this fits your life plan,” she said.
Most easements are donated and a tax receipt is issued. Environment Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency will approve ecologically significant ecogifts. No capital gains taxes are applied to an ecogift, but there could be on an easement, so careful planning is needed to offset the tax.
About 200 easements have been donated in British Columbia and no one asked for a tax receipt.
“There are a lot of philanthropic reasons for doing this,” Good said.
The land can be sold but the owner must retain the trust, and the easement will remain on the title.
Easements can be removed if the landowner and trust agree and the environment minister believes it is in the public good. This has not yet happened.
If the land trust folds, the conservation easement is passed on to another holder. A back-up trust should be named when the agreement is written.
Conflict resolution is usually written into the agreement.
“Every easement lays out how you will deal with disputers. If nothing works out, you are likely to go to court,” Good said.
Options are available to accommodate developments on protected land. For example, a landowner may allow condominiums on a small portion of the property.
Another option is development credits, in which a municipality develops a portion of the land and sets aside the rest for protection. It buys development rights to protect land. This has not been done in Canada, but has been found in the United States.
Alberta has 12 land trusts, which can be found at www.landtrusts-alberta.ca. The Miitaskis Institute can be reached at www.rockies.ca.
