Model Conservation Easements

<p>A landowner has land under conservation easement and is ready to conserve more of their nearby property. How best to carry this out?</p>

<p>If changes to a conservation easement granting document are necessary or desirable, the easement holder must decide whether to amend and restate the document in full or to amend without restatement. The Model Amendment of Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants is intended for use when the easement holder&rsquo;s decision is to amend without restatement.</p>

<p>The Model Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants provides users with a state-of-the-art legal document together with an expansive commentary. Built on practitioner experiences and feedback, no easement document in the nation has benefited from more cycles of peer review. Download both the model and the commentary. The commentary explains the reasoning behind every provision, instructs on use of the model, and provides a wealth of alternative and optional provisions. The model was last updated in July 2024 and the commentary in April 2025. (The model and commentary together are 120 pages.)</p>

<p>This model was crafted for the specific purpose of permanently protecting riparian buffers along waterways. The model is based on the 7th edition of the Model Grant of Conservation Easement and Declaration of Covenants, also published by the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association.</p>