What is a conservation easement?

A conservation easement is fundamentally a legal agreement that restricts certain uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. This type of agreement is typically made between a landowner and a land trust or government agency, and it ensures that the land will be preserved for specific purposes, such as protecting wildlife habitat, maintaining agricultural use, or conserving scenic vistas.

By placing a conservation easement on their property, landowners can continue to own and use the land while also ensuring that it will remain protected from development or other activities that could degrade its ecological or cultural resources. This mechanism is crucial in land-use planning and environmental conservation as it helps balance development pressures with the need to preserve natural resources.

The other options focus on different aspects of land use and development but do not capture the essence of what a conservation easement is. For instance, a contract for the sale of land for development pertains to transferring ownership rather than protecting it. Tax incentives for real estate development relate to financial benefits for developers, and governmental zoning regulations involve the regulation of land use but do not specifically address conservation agreements. Each of these represents different tools and approaches in the realm of land management and development but falls outside the specific protective mechanism that a conservation easement provides.