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Conservation Easement Grantors: Doing Good And Doing Well, Nancy Oppenheimer

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

Beginning in 2000, Colorado legislation authorized tax credits and cash refunds of up to $100,000 for grantors of conservation easements. Other benefits accruing to grantors are lower property tax rates, federal income tax credits and decreasing estate valuations subject to federal estate taxes. Private conservation easements preserve land for outdoor recreation, education, scenic views, open spaces, historic properties and protect relatively natural habitat. Because the development rights are permanently transferred, conservation easements provide permanent protection from development regardless of shifts in political winds.