Conservation Easements - A Troubled Adolescence

Abstract:     
This article briefly describes conservation easements and the dramatic growth in the use of such easements over the past two and a half decades. The article then highlights some of the more troubling issues that have arisen as a result of the growth in the use of conservation easements, as well as proposals for reform. The article concludes on an optimistic note, asserting that if reforms can be successfully implemented, conservation easements can emerge from their troubled adolescence to take their appropriate adult role in the panoply of land conservation techniques, and may help lead us to a new paradigm of private property ownership.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 10

Keywords: conservation easements, conservation servitudes

JEL Classification: K11, K32, L3, Q15, Q24

Accepted Paper Series