Conservation Easements: Perpetuity and Beyond

In this article, McLaughlin outlines the support for applying charitable trust principles to perpetual conservation easements, including uniform laws, the Restatement of Property, federal tax law, and case activity on this issue to date. She cautions that perpetual land protection is not appropriate in all circumstances and recommends a more considered use of perpetual conservation easements as a land protection tool. This article explores the possible use of a number of nonperpetual conservation easements to accomplish land protection goals.