Conservation Easements in Saskatchewan

Conservation easements are generally put in place with already conservation minded individuals but that doesn’t mean only certain people should be utilizing them. They allow for collaboration and connection with environmental agencies to help implement strategies that help landowners work towards goal outlined in the conservation easement management plan. All while reaping the financial benefits of the ecological goods your land provides.

The reasons to place a CE on your land can be for a variety of goals, such as protecting and enhancing a natural area, preserve a stretch of land that is home to species at risk and other wildlife or even to retain historical or cultural significance of the land and its features.

Conservation Easements are placed on land to protect ecological function and biodiversity of the landscape. They can be utilized to protect areas such as grasslands, wetlands and other ecosystems for either a term length or permanently. By signing a CE, you ensure the landscape is protected for years to come despite landowner changes. This is crucial if you ever decided to sell the land because you need the next landowner to understand all the implications and restrictions of the easement placed on the land.

A conservation easement is a voluntary, legal arrangement where a landowner agrees to manage all or part of their land in a way that protects the biodiversity and ecological function of that land. They are tied to land title and will transfer with change of land ownership.

An easement is granted to an eligible conservation organization or government agency under The Conservation Easement Act (2021) in Saskatchewan. The conservation easement is typically negotiated in perpetuity, and is registered on the title of the land. The Act also provides that conservation easements may be of fixed duration and, in recent years, “term conservation easements” have also been developed.

Under a conservation easement, the landowner continues using the land subject to the restrictions in the easement. They are free to sell, gift or will that property, but the easement binds future landowners to the same land use restrictions.

The easement and the restrictions included in the easement are negotiated and agreed upon at the outset of the agreement to meet the interests of the landowner and the conservation objectives of the easement holder which are often to preserve the biological, physical and cultural attributes of the land for future generations.
The landowner retains ownership of the land while the easement holder is said to hold an “interest” in the land.

Conservation easements can be held by non-profit, non-government organizations (i.e., a land trust), as well as by government and other agencies. The following agencies are able to hold conservation easements in Saskatchewan.

-All levels of government (federal, provincial, municipal)

–Ducks Unlimited Canada

–Meewasin Valley Authority

–Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment

–Nature Conservancy of Canada

–Nature Saskatchewan

–Saskatchewan Archaeological Society

–Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association

–Saskatchewan Stock Growers Foundation

–Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation

-Wakamow Valley Authority

–Wascana Centre Authority

A conservation easement is a legal agreement between two entities, but there are a number of others who may provide critical oversight or support roles. Learning the roles that each of these other entities can play is important to understanding conservation easements, as a tool and its process.

Grantor

When a landowner enters into a conservation agreement, they are said to “grant” a conservation easement – thus, they are the “grantor.” This term applies regardless of whether the grant of a CE was a donation, sale or obtained through some other kind of transaction.
The grantor holds the legal title to the parcel of land in question, and has the right to assign interests in that land to others. The grantor may be an individual, a commercial corporation, a group like a co-op or some other entity entitled to hold private land. The grantor continues to be the land manager throughout the term of the conservation easement.
In the conservation easement negotiation, the grantor is one of the two primary players. The motivations of the grantor are rarely singular or simple. Though the grantor enters into the conservation easement process with a goal to protect the conservation values of their property, they may have associated financial, succession, development approval or other goals.

Grantee

The entity receiving the Conservation Easement is the “grantee”, often referred to as the holder of the CE. In Saskatchewan, they are generally a conservation charity (land trust), a provincial government agency or, in some cases, a municipal government.
The grantee is the other primary player in the conservation easement negotiation because they hold the conservation easement in trust for future generations or the duration of the conservation easement. Depending on the details of the CE agreement, grantee may not have a right to exercise the land interests they receive. For example, if the grantor gives up the opportunity to pursue some type of development on the CE, the grantee does not then have the right to pursue that development.
The role of the grantee is to hold and monitor the conservation easement on behalf of society and the conservation goals prescribed by the agreement.  For the term of the conservation easement, the grantee will monitor and enforce the conditions of the CE, working in conjunction with the grantor as the land manager.

Other Interest Holders

The landowner should notify each interest holder (lending institutions for mortgages, industrial players) to ensure they understand the implications of the conservation easement. If these interests have been registered first, they have priority to the conservation easement, but there is the potential for the “order” of interests to be changed.

Professional Advisors

Conservation easements are conceptually straightforward, but complex in implementation. The grantor (landowner) and grantee (qualified organization) may have the expertise required to craft and enact a robust and effective conservation easement, but professional advisement is often recommended. The grantee and grantor may choose to consult advisors as a group, however, legal and financial advice should be sought independently.

Professional advisement may include:
Legal advisors – An agency’s template conservation easement document can be used as a starting point, with modifications made to suit individual needs and site specifications. Restrictions lists, baseline reports, and management plans also need to be considered, all of which are best reviewed by legal advisors of both parties.
Financial advisors – Landowners may want input from financial advisors who are familiar with their circumstances to review and clarify the financial implications of entering into a conservation easement.
Conservation Advisors – The basis of all future monitoring and stewardship is explained in the Baseline Documentation Report or Baseline Report, which inventories and evaluates the ecological, agricultural, and/or scenic values of the property. Some landowners may already have an inventory, but even in those cases, it is worthwhile to have professional assistance to compile the inventory, frame it in a conservation context and gather supporting maps, photos and data.
Appraisers –When a CE is purchased by a grantee, an appraisal is required to understand the financial value of a conservation easement. The parties to the CE negotiation need to agree on a certified appraiser with experience and the ability to appraise conservation easements.

The easement conditions and the restrictions included are negotiated and agreed to meet the interests of the landowner and the conservation objectives of the easement holder. They are in place to preserve the biological, physical and cultural attributes of the land for future generations.

Different agencies have different interests when it comes to preserving the landscape and this makes it important that communication between the grantor and grantee is forefront to make sure both parties understand the full implications of any restrictions placed on the land.

A conservation easement is a tool to help landowners accomplish their long-term conservation objectives.  Typically, the value of a CE is linked to the fair market value of the property, as determined by an accredited appraiser based on the CE’s conditions. However, the amount paid for a CE is usually a percentage of the fair market value of the easement and the percentage can vary slightly between agencies.
There are a number of ways a landowner can be compensated for granting a conservation easement.

Including:
-provision of a tax receipt for a donation (only applies to in perpetuity easements)
-payment for the CE (usually a pre-set percentage of the CE value rather than full value)
-split receipt (a combination of tax receipt and payment)
-special consideration of a development proposal.

Currently, tax receipts associated with the Ecological Gifts Program are only provided for easements granted in perpetuity.

Prior to the creation of the act, conservation-minded landowners had limited opportunities to receive any financial benefit for seeking long-term protection of the ecological, scenic, agricultural or other values of their property other than selling their land to a conservation buyer or government agency. This was not a viable option for landowners wishing to retain ownership and use of their land. Conservation easements provided that opportunity. For those landowners who are already stewarding their land for long-term conservation, the benefit is straightforward – keep doing what you are doing AND receive a financial benefit for doing it.

In fact, the financial benefits of granting a conservation easement can be quite significant, and continue to be developed today. Broadly speaking, there are currently three kinds of financial incentive for granting a conservation easement: a tax receipt, a cash payment or beneficial consideration (from a municipal council) of a development proposal.

Tax receipts are a common form of compensation for the grant of a conservation easement, but are only applicable to easements granted in perpetuity. Both land trusts and government agencies can issue tax receipts. Donations of conservation easements are eligible for favourable income-tax treatment for the donor federally and provincially. For the most part, the tax implications are the same as for any other type of charitable donation, though certification under the federal Ecological Gifts Program greatly augments these benefits.
For a corporation, taxable income is reduced by an amount equal to the value of the donation. For individuals, a non-refundable tax credit is applied to their tax payable. Normally a tax credit can be used in the year of donation or carried forward for as many as 5 years, however, this carry forward period is extended if the gift is certified under the Government of Canada Ecological Gift Program. The value of tax credits can vary with the location and circumstances of the conservation easement, and include negotiations between donors, the conservation organization and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change (ECC).

It is important to recognize that only “gifts” are eligible for a tax receipt. This means that any conservation easement that is provided in exchange for something is not considered to be a gift given “freely and without consideration.” For example, conservation easements provided to secure special development considerations from a municipality or conservation easements provided to a land trust in exchange for grazing rights on another property would not be considered “gifts” and would not be eligible for a tax receipt.

One of the most significant advantages of certifying a perpetual conservation easement as an Ecological Gift (EcoGift) is augmented tax benefits.

First, in a normal charitable donation, the maximum receipt value you can use in any one year is 75% of your income, whereas an EcoGift-certified receipt can be applied against 100% of your income. Also, any property can generate a capital gain over the period it is owned, which is taxable. When a property (or interest in that property) is disposed of through a donation, 50% of the gain is taxable; however, when that donation occurs through the EcoGifts program, no portion of the capital gain is taxable. Finally, the time limit on the tax credit is relaxed with an EcoGift. Rather than having five (5) years after the year of donation to use up the tax credit, as of 2014 donors have ten (10) years.

Cash payments are by far the most lucrative and versatile form of compensation for a conservation easement … and by far the rarest! Land trusts and government agencies rarely have cash to pay for conservation easements, and when they do, they are rarely able to compensate the full value.

Two notable exceptions exist. Land trusts, through their conservation planning, may identify areas that are of particular importance to them, or that are particularly threatened, then approach various funding sources to raise money for the purchase of land or conservation easements. In general, payments for conservation easements are for a percentage of the parcel value, and typically vary from 25-35%. In these cases, the qualified organization will often use ‘Split Receipting.’

Split Receipting

Financial benefits for conservation easements are often characterized as cash OR a tax receipt, but there is a third option that splits the difference: split receipting.
In “split receipting” (also called a “bargain sale” in the U.S.) the landowner receives a combination of a cash payment and a tax receipt that add up to the full value of the conservation easement.
This option arose because circumstances when cash was available to compensate landowners for the full value of the conservation easement are rare.     These circumstances tend to happen only with certain land trusts, in specific locations, and in exceptional times when cash is available. In many cases, landowners who receive a split receipt must use its full value within a specific time frame, which often proves challenging. As with calculations of other tax benefits, the specific details of compensation in split receipting are negotiated between the parties involved.

In 2002, the Canada Revenue Agency issued a policy bulletin proposing guidelines for split receipting, which have since become their operating policy (the CRA tends not to amend The Income Tax Act and regularly uses these bulletins as de facto policy). These guidelines contain some restrictions, a key one being that there must be clear “donative intent.” This means the landowner receiving the combined tax receipt/payment must be able to show that there was a clear intent to make a gift (freely and without consideration). The guidance offered to satisfy this restriction is that the cash cannot make up more than 80% of the value of the conservation easement.

It is important to keep in mind that there may be potential negative tax implications that can often be avoided with some careful planning.

Capital Gains Taxes

Capital gains taxes will apply to conservation easements held in perpetuity, but these can be mitigated through the provisions applicable to donations and the augmented tax benefits available through the Ecological Gifts Program.
Real property is generally subject to a potential capital gain at the time it is disposed of; in other words, an increase in value from the time it was acquired to when it was sold, willed, gifted or otherwise disposed of. That “gain” in value is taxable.
Most people are surprised to find out that even a donation is subject to capital gains taxes, which are generally more than offset by the tax receipt, but still vexing. For a normal donation, the taxes payable on the capital gain are 50% of what they would be in a non-donative disposition (i.e., if the donation does not qualify as a gift). The good news is that certifying the donation as an Ecological Gift means no portion of the capital gain is taxable.

Property Taxes

Virtually all privately held parcels of land in Saskatchewan are subject to municipal property tax calculated using the ad valorem basis of taxation. In this process, your property’s value is assessed (usually by the Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency) and a provincially established percentage is applied to this value to determine a “taxable assessment”, which is then multiplied by a municipal “mill rate” to produce the property tax. The municipal tax rate (a.k.a. mill rate) is calculated by dividing the amount of taxation revenue the municipality requires by the total taxable assessment, and multiplying that number by 1,000. Assessed land values vary with land use (i.e., agricultural, residential) and ownership (i.e., private, commercial).

Within guidelines set out by the province, some municipalities may set their taxation rates and modify their land value assessment process. Each municipality will approach this process differently, and assessments and taxation rates will vary between municipalities. Because the tax you pay is a function of the assessment and taxation rate (or mill rate), relief in either one can be significant.

For the purposes of parcels that might be subject to a conservation easement, there are essentially two assessment categories: “fair market value” and “agricultural.” “Fair market value” is essentially the price the property would fetch on an open market for its most economically advantageous use (“highest and best use”).

“Agricultural” value recognizes that agricultural parcels may have an inflated value based on their potential for more intensive development, but would garner a much lower price based purely on their agricultural-based economic productivity.

When it comes to property taxation of conservation lands – that is, lands either subject to a conservation easement or held by a conservation organization – the province has left property taxation rates up to the individual municipality.

Landowners and qualified organizations working together on a given conservation easement will need to check with the local municipality to know how conservation lands in that area are taxed by the municipality.

Tax and succession planning is complex and each landowner’s situation is different. For instance, conservation easements created for a fixed period of time (“term”) will require different tax and succession strategies than a CE agreement made in perpetuity that spans multiple generations. It is best to work with a financial advisor with specific knowledge of your situation and goals, to determine how a tax receipt would or would not benefit you.

The world of taxation on income and property can be complex, and can vary depending on location and circumstances. It is important to consult your tax advisor about the specific implications of a conservation easement for you.

In the meantime, here are a few potential issues to be on the lookout for:

Only gifts can get tax receipts – A conservation easement given in exchange for something (development considerations, other land use options, etc.) is not considered a gift and is not eligible for a tax receipt.

Capital gains – Capital gains, and the taxes payable on them, accrue on property no matter what. Any permanent disposition of land – even a donation – will trigger a capital gains calculation. That capital gains tax is waived if your donation is certified under the EcoGifts program, but 50% of the gain is taxable if it is a charitable donation that does not qualify as an EcoGift’. Fixed term conservation easements do not accrue capital gains taxes. Conservation easements on agricultural land may be eligible for the EcoGifts program providing that they are native grasslands that contain significant conservation value or biodiversity. Your gift would be eligible for the regular charitable tax receipt, but it would not receive the additional beneficial tax treatment available under the EcoGifts program.

Municipalities determine property tax relief – Municipalities typically have two property tax categories: fair market value and agricultural. Some municipalities will waive the property tax on a conservation property, some will lower it to the agricultural rate, and some will provide no special considerations. You need to talk to your municipality to determine the situation in your area. Remember, if a property subject to a conservation easement is being used for agriculture, its property tax is already at the agricultural rate.

Appraisals outside of the EcoGifts program are subject to challenge by the Canada Revenue Agency. Every appraisal done to support a tax deduction can be challenged by the CRA at any point for three years. Appraisals done under the EcoGifts program are reviewed and then guaranteed by Environment and Climate Change Canada.

EcoGifts restrict changes in land use – Conservation easement legislation allows the landowner and the holder of the conservation easement to re-negotiate the conservation easement with provisions for changes in use. However, grantors and recipients of conservation easements certified under the EcoGifts program may be exposed to punitive clawback penalties for certain changes in use. Both parties should be aware of these limitations. Through dialogue with the Minister, minor changes in land use may be approved and written into the agreement, whereas un-approved changes in use may lead to penalties.

Can a Conservation Easement be Modified?

Recognizing that the land, players and surrounding circumstances will change over time, there is a limited ability to amend a conservation easement.
The Conservation Easements Act provides that the conservation easement itself can be amended by agreement between the grantor and grantee. Even in those cases where amendments are made, the conservation easement is still in place to protect the land it is tied to so restrictions will still be enforced in the interest of the land.
When the need for a change in the conservation easement is reflected more in the operations and practices (unexpected vegetation invasions, change in the working landscape operation, etc.) than the core structure of the agreement, changes may be made more efficiently through the management plan.
Regardless of the changes made, the parties need to be aware that there could be financial implications. If the conservation easement was certified as a gift of ecological property, the tax advantages provided may be affected and claw back requirements can be significant.  Any change in use must be approved before hand by the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

Can a Conservation Easement be Terminated?

There is also a provision in The Conservation Easements Act for conservation easements to be terminated. Similar to amendments, this can only be done by agreement between the parties (CE holder and the landowner) or by the Court of Queen’s Bench by application for two reasons: where the court is in the opinion that the easement would produce a severe hardship for the applicant or the CE holder ceases to exist.
As with amendments, implications would include potential tax claw backs and loss of reputational capital. For a termination these would obviously be much more significant. It is important to note a termination could conceivably happen for conservation reasons. For example, amendments that would update and improve the conservation capacity of the CE are so significant that removing the existing CE and starting again is seen as the better route. Such actions would be controversial and precedent setting, and would not be considered lightly.

A landowner may challenge the conservation easement itself, which will likely require the land trust to defend the conservation easement in front of a judge. The likelihood of legal challenges against a conservation easement is lower with the first landowner, who negotiated the conservation easement, but becomes more likely with subsequent owners.

As a perpetual agreement carries a high risk of challenge at some point, some land trusts may maintain a legal defence fund. Many qualified organizations create legal defense funds, sometimes for each conservation easement separately, sometimes one fund for all the organization’s CEs. In many cases, the legal defense fund is rolled into the overall stewardship fund.

Conservation easements generally exist in perpetuity, therefore there may be infractions against one or more of the restrictions over time. The history of conservation easements has shown infractions (also referred to as infringements) or challenges generally do not occur with the first or even second landowner, but rather with subsequent ones. If restrictions in the easement agreement are breached, there may be legal actions.

Infractions may be the result of a landowner not understanding a restriction or simply not knowing the restriction exists. In other cases, the landowner may not agree with the restriction and take an action to challenge the restriction. The best way to avoid infractions is through the development of good relationships between the grantor (landowner) and the grantee (conservation organization), with transparency and trust as foundations for clear understanding of restrictions and options for amendments to the conditions of the CE.

Regardless of the reason an infraction occurs, each conservation easement document should describe how to deal with infractions. When there is a conflict, the CE holder and the landowner generally agree to make a reasonable effort to resolve the problem together. If the conflict cannot be resolved through this collaborative effort, then the parties usually opt for mediation process, and beyond that a binding arbitration process. In the most severe cases, the parties may end up in a lawsuit.
In cases where the infraction – or pending infraction – has serious and immediate potential to harm the land, the CE holder may seek legal remedies such as an injunction.

All conservation easements should include a clause that states if one or more of the restrictions is not upheld, the rest of the easement is still valid and in force. This means even if one restriction is either abandoned (as a result of the process described above) or not enforced by the CE holder for some reason, the conservation easement continues to be in force.

A conservation agreement is legally binding agreement between a landowner and conservation group, such as the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Foundation. They are different from conservation easements because they are not tied to land title and the length of the contract varies depending on the project and conservation group involved.  You still maintain ownership and management of your land but have to take into considerations the legal terms of your agreement.

The costs associated with placing a conservation easement on a parcel of land can vary dramatically depending on characteristics of the parcel, preferences and needs of the landowner, and the goals and requirements of the qualified organization. Even the “donation” of a conservation easement has several associated costs. However, it is possible to identify potential costs, and to prepare for the process.

Personnel

Although some land trusts use volunteer staff, many land trusts and all municipalities rely on paid staff to identify, negotiate, fundraise for, monitor and coordinate conservation easement acquisitions. It is important to have a sense of the time investment anticipated, and thus the associated cost. Even in the case of volunteer staff, knowing the “in-kind” value is critical in grant applications.

Baseline Reports

All future monitoring of a conservation easement is based on an initial report, cataloguing the character and features of the parcel (the Baseline Report, Baseline Documentation Report or BDR). Developing the report will require the involvement of reliable professionals who can provide a credible assessment of the ecological, agricultural, scenic or other values of the land. The qualified organization usually covers the cost of this document, though that cost may be offset by the information the landowner may already have collected.

Management Plans

Often conservation easements include a management plan, which is separate from restrictions on use of the parcel, and describes the approach that will be taken in managing the land to maintain identified conservation values. Like a Baseline Report, the management plan usually requires the involvement of professionals with skill in creating a plan that meets the needs of both the landowner and the qualified organization.

Appraisals

The value of the conservation easement – established to inform compensation calculations – requires a professional appraisal conducted by a certified appraiser, with experience assessing conservation easements. This is also required as part of the EcoGifts application process. The appraisal may be paid for by the landowner or the qualified organization, or the costs may be shared.

Advisor Fees

Both the landowner and the qualified organization will want to consult with their professional advisors before and during the process of negotiating a conservation easement, and will likely incur costs doing so. Those advisors could include legal, financial and/or conservation experts.

Stewardship Funds

Generally speaking, qualified organizations establish a Stewardship Fund (for its own purposes, not for the purposes of the landowner) to ensure that the organization is able to implement and monitor the easement and to be sure the landowner is living by the baseline report, usually as an endowed fund intended to support anticipated costs of stewarding the organization’s conservation easement. These costs generally include ongoing personnel costs (monitoring, etc.). The legal defense fund is usually a pooled fund that the qualified organization can use for any of its properties, invested to grow over time, and applied as needed to counter infractions or challenges to the easement.

Qualified organizations may fundraise for this fund, or may ask the grantor to provide part or all of this fund as an up-front endowment.

Taxes

There are two main taxation costs to be aware of. Properties subject to conservation easements are still owned by the landowner and are still subject to assessment for property taxation purposes. As well, even a donation of a conservation easement represents the disposition of property, and is subject to capital gains taxes.

Both of these costs can be mitigated or even eliminated through the certification of a conservation easement as an EcoGift or preferential tax treatment by the municipality. It is important to understand these opportunities at the outset of the conservation easement acquisition/negotiation process (see Ecological Gifts and Property Taxes for more information).

What Does “Stewarding” a Conservation Easement  Mean?

Designing and negotiating a conservation easement is a big job, but not compared to the ongoing stewardship of the land over the subsequent years. Over that time period, changes will occur in land tenure, conservation theory, local economies and even the physical character of the land. Conservation easements, and the parties that negotiate them, must be mindful of the implications of conserving land in these long term and evolving circumstances. Every organization and every conservation easement is different, but there are some basic commonalities in the long-term considerations of holding a conservation easement.

After a conservation easement is in place on a parcel of land, that land gains another steward, someone responsible for protecting it. While the landowner has a collection of stewardship responsibilities, the grantee – the holder of the conservation easement – has another collection.

Monitoring against the Baseline Report

The Baseline Report (or Baseline Documentation Report, BDR) is the basis for any subsequent monitoring, usually undertaken at least annually. The conservation easement holder must work out monitoring protocols, conduct monitoring and should report the results back to the landowner. This monitoring allows the easement holder – or grantee – to track changes in the land and land uses and to observe if conservation measures are effective.

Managing access

The landowner manages access, ensuring that such access does not affect the conservation values of the property, and is consistent with restrictions on the CE. The grantee has access to the property for monitoring purposes. All activity and access on the property is intended not to reduce the conservation value.

Ongoing Land Management
The whole basis of the conservation easement tool is that the vast majority of land management responsibility continues to rest with the landowner. However, the easement holder does have interests with regard to land management. These are based on the restrictions included in the conservation easement agreement. The CE holder ensures restrictions outlined in the conservation easement are being upheld. Management activities or plans are not directly linked to the conservation easement but any such plans are designed to retain or improve the quality of the habitat, biodiversity and conservation value.

Managing infractions

One of the critical roles for the holder of a conservation easement is enforcing the terms of the CE. Monitoring informs when infractions are or have taken place, and it is the responsibility of the qualified organization to ensure the landowner takes action to repair the harm and restore the conservation values of the parcel.  The organization may assist the landowner with restoration although costs are normally the responsibility of the landowner . The enforcement process should be laid out in the conservation easement agreement, with descriptions of circumstances that may be addressed by simply bargaining in good faith, to seeking injunctions in the courts.

Ongoing Communication

Communication may be the most important stewardship activity the conservation easement holder can undertake, which may be in the form of a phone call or stopping by the landowner’s house for coffee. During these conversations, the CE holder can find out about changes in the landscape, local land use, management activities on the parcel, vegetation communities or species abundance. Infractions based on misunderstandings can be avoided and vital stewardship partnerships can be created and fostered through adequate communication.

A Baseline Report (often referred to by different names, such as Baseline Documentation Report, Conservation Report) is the snapshot of the conservation features and values of the property. This document outlines what is of conservation importance about the property and any future monitoring, interpretation of the CE and necessary enforcement will be based on this baseline document.

The Baseline Report is generally prepared by the CE holder, but landowner involvement leads to a more effective report. The landowner will likely have the most knowledge about the property and may have existing conservation inventories that can be used. If the landowner is not involved, they will at least need to sign off that the report is a valid representation of the property.

The following sections may be included in the Baseline Report:

Context : The Baseline Report should explicitly reference the conservation purpose of the CE, making it clear that the assessment and inventories included are expressed in terms of that conservation purpose. When the conservation values being protected are part of a larger picture, that regional context should be described.

Human Footprint : The Baseline Report should include a description of the existing human footprint (house, barn, road, shed, etc.) and land use activities, and should identify any activities that are to be grandfathered.

Natural or Conservation Features : The Report should include a listing and description of the features of the landscape the parties are hoping to protect. This could include water/hydrology, vegetation, surficial geology, wildlife, archeologically significant areas, scenic views and/or agriculturally-productive land.

Monitoring and Stewardship :  As the Baseline Report is the basis of future monitoring and stewardship, the report should be structured to support that future work. This should include detailed descriptions of the photo-points so they can be replicated, and recommendations on monitoring approaches where applicable.

As the grantor of the land under the conservation easement, the landowner is responsible to manage the land in a way that maintains the condition of the land as it was at the time of the baseline assessment. The cost of managing and maintaining the land is born by the landowner, the organization to whom the CE was granted (i.e., grantee) often has access to funding to contribute to these costs. In addition, grantee organizations usually provide landowners access to other funding sources (e.g., for water source management, fencing, native re-seeding or restoration) to help offset land management costs for the CE.

Ongoing stewardship of a Conservation Easement has associated costs for the grantee organization as well, ranging from wages for staff members to conduct monitoring, collaboration with landowners on management activities, responding to infractions or dealing with legal challenges.
Environmental funding in Saskatchewan, like most jurisdictions, is project based, meaning there are fewer opportunities for simple organizational funding of the sort that would support already-secured land conservation projects. For this reason, organizations contemplating holding conservation easements for a perpetual time period should have a clear plan for how they will cover those ongoing costs.

There are a few approaches to raising funds for stewardship:

-requesting a stewardship endowment from the landowner at the time of the conservation easement grant;

-establishing an endowment for each (or all) properties, adding to it regularly and structuring it to grow;
hiring and using dedicated fundraising staff; and/or

-dedicating a portion of project funds from philanthropic or government granting sources to such a purpose.

Conservation easements are administered through a management plan, which is often drafted as a stand-alone document that is referred to in the agreement. The management plan reflects the path forward, and provides greater clarity on how the conservation easement’s conservation goals will be achieved in the future and should be funded separately from the restrictions associated with the CE.

The concept of a conservation easement management plan is rooted in the ability for CEs to both restrict and prescribe future activities (in contrast to restrictive covenants). Areas that are commonly addressed in Management Plans include timber harvest, agricultural operations, vegetation management (including invasives), water and wetland conservation, wildlife management, restoration and Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs). Management plans may also identify rights retained by the landowner and how they will be used or managed to support the conservation goals (e.g., motorized vehicles use only on existing trails for the purpose of supporting ranching activities).

The parties should take care to draft the management plan in such a way that it has a light touch on any management activity that does not relate directly to conservation goals. Not doing so can create unnecessary points of contention and create conservation easement elements that are difficult to monitor and enforce.

A parcel of land being considered for an easement may have a mortgage from a lending institution. This results in the lending institution having an interest in the property. In the event of a mortgage foreclosure, the conservation easement is at risk as it may have a lower priority on the title. It may be advisable to seek a mortgage postponement to ensure the conservation easement will survive the foreclosure. Most land trusts have a standard mortgage postponement request form.

Signing a CE in perpetuity may affect your resale value and what future owners can do in terms of developing yard sites, cultivation, use of chemicals, as well as commercial, residential, and industrial development.
Check with your financial institution about whether a CE will affect your ability to use the land as collateral. A CE is an encumbrance (a charge or lien on the property).

Make sure you know who has access to the lands to which the CE applies and who will conduct the monitoring of the CE. In most cases, the grantor controls all access. Details on conditions and restrictions in the CE usually allow the grantee access to monitor the land parcel. Other parties’ access to the land in question should be arranged with the grantor through advance notice.

Restrictions lists should determine whether the CE allows flexible management to work around droughts and other natural disasters.

Make sure you are involved in the development of the CE so that you are aware of and have a say in the types of activities allowed on the land parcel and the restrictions that are included in the CE. These are negotiated between the landowner and the organization that will hold the CE.  Any land use that does not compromise the integrity of the natural habitat may be allowed. Examples include: hunting, outfitting, ecotourism, grazing, hay storage, water development, fence construction and trail development.

Make sure you know what activities are restricted. Examples include: cultivation, introduction of tame forage species or noxious weeds and residential, commercial and industrial development. Limits can be put on commercial logging, yet timber and firewood can be removed for personal use. A CE does not necessarily restrict approved development projects such as mineral exploration.

In most cases yard sites should be excluded within the CE.

It’s your responsibility to manage the land to maintain the its condition and conservation values as documented in the baseline report. Likewise, it is important for the grantee to conduct monitoring   on a regular basis to confirm the management practices are maintaining the ecological integrity of the land consistent with the conditions of the land as described in the baseline report . The grantor will want to include provisions in the CE related to monitoring of the CE.

Determine who benefits from the Ecological Goods and Services derived from the land, as well as who receives the monetary credits from possible greenhouse gas mitigation, carbon sequestration, native prairie biodiversity and endangered species protection.

Each agreement is vastly different and focus on different goals. You may be able to secure additional funding for projects such as solar water systems and pipelines to protect riparian areas, changes to existing fencing for more wildlife friendly options or assistance on controlling invasive weeds. Typically, greater amounts will be allocated for projects that provide significant public benefits and for longer terms but different organizations have different funding options available depending on the project.

Conservation agreements are different from easements because they focus on management actions needed to maintain or enhance natural landscapes to achieve the desired outcomes. These can vary by each different type of agreement and desired outcomes for each one. Examples can include changes to fencing to wildlife friendly options or timing of activities on the ranch to decrease noise during Greater Sage Grouse mating rituals.