Conserve Your Land

There’s never been a more important time to think about the future of your land and to protect the natural resources that we all rely on. Conserving your land through voluntary agreements with Guadalupe River Conservancy is the best way to ensure a win-win-win for Texas, working lands, and wildlife.

Conserving your land can guarantee that it will remain as agricultural or natural land for generations to come, without having to sell or subdivide your property. You maintain the freedom to manage your land in a way that makes sense for you while allowing it to pass on to your family in the future. And in addition to the positive outcome for the land, conservation agreements with a land trust can provide generous tax benefits to help with planning your estate.

The GRC team has a passion for helping farmers, ranchers, and nature lovers protect their land for present and future generations, and our process is designed to help you feel supported all along this important journey.

Our Process

As a first step, we want to understand your needs and goals for your land. There are a number of different available options that are dependent on your unique situation. We will also advise you to speak with your family, attorney, and tax adviser when considering the best option for you.

Next, we must be sure your property aligns with our preservation goals. We focus on projects that will protect the health and quality of the River and its tributaries, including riparian corridors, wetlands, working farms and ranches, aquifer recharge, and coastal habitats.

If both parties agree that it is beneficial to proceed, we will together negotiate and draft the easement with respect to your needs and the conservation needs of the land. No two easements are alike, just like no two pieces of land are the same! 

We’ll work with you to appraise the property, conduct all legal due diligence, and coordinate with your advisers on the legal and financial aspects of the conservation easement.

Key Considerations

Flexibility

Conservation agreements are very flexible! All land is different and all landowner's needs and desires are different. We work to create an agreement that is beneficial to all parties. The terms of the agreement are tailored to meet Guadalupe River Conservancy's conservation values and the landowner's needs through a discussion and negotiation process. For example, landowners may choose to retain the right to build on the land in specific locations, the right to specific agricultural processes, and may choose not to conserve their entire land at one time.

Value Benefits

The value of a conservation easement is the difference in fair market value of the entire property before and after being encumbered by a conservation easement. This requires a qualified appraisal to identify the highest and best use of the property, and, based on the terms of the easement, how much those encumbrances affect the value of the property.

Donated conservation easements may qualify as a charitable contribution under IRS regulations, which provides federal tax benefits similar to those of other charitable contributions. Working lands may be able to deduct the full value of the conservation easement from their federal income tax up to a 15 year period. Landowners with less than 50% of income coming from the property may be able to deduct up to 50% of that value. A conservation easement can also possibly decrease property taxes and estate taxes. Guadalupe River Conservancy cannot give legal or tax advice. Please consult your legal or tax professional for more information.

In some cases and locations, a conservation easement may be purchased from the landowner rather than donated. Funding is sometimes available for specific habitat or land use protection but is not guaranteed. The Conservancy will work to assist landowners in obtaining this funding. In many of these cases, a "bargain sale" conservation easement is more fitting. Bargain sales purchase a portion of the easement value, while the remainder can be considered a charitable contribution.