Black Canyon Land Trust

1500 East Oak Grove,

Suite 201

Montrose, CO 81401

Voice: 970/252-1481

Fax: 970/252-7209

email

"Promoting & ensuring conservation of private lands in the Uncompahgre, North Fork, and Lower Gunnison Watersheds."

BCLT Conservation Easement Process

Get to Know You:
It is important that you and the Black Canyon Land Trust are aiming for the same goal in the conservation of your land.  When you contact Black Canyon Land Trust, we will mail a landowner information packet and landowner questionnaire (or download it now!).  This information is provided as important “food for thought” when considering an easement.  The questionnaire will help us to map the location of your property, look for conservation values in your area, and allow you to tell us why you want to conserve your land.

Site Visit:
Upon receiving the questionnaire and mapping the property, a staff member from the land trust will call you and set an appointment to meet together on the property (it is best if all involved landowners are present).  During this visit we will review: the conservation resources on the property, options to protect them, what restrictions should be considered, the costs associated with a conservation easement, and what concerns you may have about granting an easement.  After touring your property and hearing your wishes, we can evaluate whether your land is something the Black Canyon Land Trust can conserve.

Proposal:
Upon acceptance, a project proposal letter will be provided to you.  This letter will, at a minimum, provide a summary of the project and documentation that will be required, estimated expenses for conservation easement, and an endowment request.  Return of this signed proposal along with a project deposit will initiate the Black Canyon Land Trust to order title work on the property and begin writing a draft easement.  If the title indicates severance of mineral rights a mineral remoteness report or mineral rights subordination will be required from the donor.  If the title report indicates a mortgage or loan against the property a release of the mortgage/loan or subordination will be required from the donor.

Required Documentation:
Information required from the donor to aid drafting the conservation easement includes: copy of warranty deed for property, survey/plat map or legal/aliquot description, certificate of insurance (if applicable), and specified boundary of property.

Outside Counsel:
We, at the Black Canyon Land Trust will do everything we can to make you comfortable with the process, terms, and conditions of placing a conservation easement on your land; however, we strongly recommend you seek outside counsel from an attorney, financial planner and/or accountant.

Appraisal:
If your donation qualifies as a charitable donation (see Tax Implications of Conservation Easements); you must obtain an appraisal to determine the value of the easement.  Black Canyon Land Trust can provide you with a list of appraisers “qualified” to value conservation easements.

Baseline:
A Baseline Inventory Report is a “snapshot in time” capturing the original condition of the property for all future parties to see.  A Baseline Inventory Report shall be required for every project.  The Baseline Inventory Report must be prepared by a qualified natural resources professional. BCLT reserves the right to determine the adequacy of preparer qualifications, and can provide you with a list of baseline preparers familiar with conservation easements.

Mineral Assessment:
If any portion of the property’s mineral rights have been severed, the IRS tax code requires you must hire a professional geologist to prepare a Mineral Assessment Report.  BCLT can also provide you with a list of geologists in the area.

Board Approval:
Once you, the BCLT project manager, and legal counsel are comfortable with the easement, it will be taken to the Black Canyon Land Trust Board for final resolution approval.  At this point the conservation easement is ready to be signed, notarized, and recorded.

Sign & Record easement: After a final review of the documents, you and the Black Canyon Land Trust project manager will hold a closing to sign the easement and baseline documentation report. The easement will be recorded with the County Clerk and Recorder.

IRS Form 8283: Don’t forget to talk to your financial planner about attaching IRS Form 8283 (for "Noncash Charitable Contributions") to your income tax return for the year in which the easement was donated.  Both the operating appraiser and the BCLT project manager must sign this form.

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